It’s peak season. The warehouse is running mandatory overtime, the delivery routes get longer every week, and the pressure to keep moving never lets up. Then something gives. You feel your back pop lifting a pallet, or you slip on a wet loading dock. You report it, see a doctor, and file a workers’ comp claim. Two weeks later, your supervisor calls you in and says you’re being let go for “attendance.”
If you were fired after a workers’ comp claim, you don’t have to accept that timing as a coincidence. Both West Virginia and Ohio make it illegal to punish workers for pursuing workers’ compensation. But the two states protect you in different ways, and Ohio’s version comes with deadlines so short that many injured workers lose the claim before they ever talk to a lawyer.
Klie Law Offices represents injured workers in West Virginia and Ohio who were pushed out after getting hurt. Here’s how the law works, what evidence matters, and what to do this week. Our page on workers’ comp discrimination has more background.
Ohio: The 90-Day Clock Starts When You’re Fired
Ohio’s workers’ comp anti-retaliation law is Ohio Revised Code § 4123.90. It bars employers from firing, demoting, reassigning, or taking punitive action against an employee because the employee filed a claim, pursued a claim, or testified in a workers’ comp proceeding over an injury or occupational disease that happened on the job.
Here’s the trap. To bring a claim under § 4123.90, the employer must receive written notice of the claimed violation within 90 days after the firing or other punitive action. The lawsuit itself must be filed within 180 days after the firing or other punitive action. Miss the notice deadline, and the claim is generally gone, no matter how obvious the retaliation was. If you’re not sure whether your employer ever received written notice, assume it hasn’t and get a letter out now.
The damages available under this statute are also limited. They generally center on reinstatement with back pay, plus reasonable attorney fees. That’s one reason a lawyer will look at whether other claims fit your situation too, like disability discrimination or medical leave violations, which can carry broader remedies.
West Virginia: Protection While You’re Off Work
West Virginia takes a different approach. Chapter 23, Article 5A of the West Virginia Code prohibits employers from discriminating against workers because they received or tried to receive workers’ comp benefits. It also bars an employer from firing an injured worker who is off work because of a compensable injury and is receiving, or is eligible to receive, temporary total disability benefits, unless the worker committed a separate dischargeable offense, meaning misconduct wholly unrelated to the injury or the time off it caused. Absences caused by the injury can’t be used as the reason, even when they’re added to other absences.
West Virginia doesn’t have Ohio’s 90-day written notice rule. But these claims still have filing deadlines, and evidence gets harder to gather the longer you wait. If you were let go after a workplace injury in West Virginia, don’t assume you have years to decide.
Retaliation Rarely Announces Itself
Employers almost never say, “We’re firing you because of your comp claim.” The reason given is usually attendance, performance, a policy violation, or a restructuring. Courts look past the label at the facts. Signs that the real reason may be your claim include:
- Timing. Discipline or termination soon after an injury report or claim filing.
- A clean record that suddenly isn’t. Years of good reviews followed by write-ups after the injury.
- Attendance points for injury-related absences. Doctor visits or restricted-duty days counted against you.
- Comments. A supervisor calling you a “liability,” asking when you’ll be “back to 100 percent,” or complaining about insurance costs.
- Inconsistent rules. Coworkers without claims who broke the same rule and kept their jobs.
- Pressure not to file. Being told to use your own health insurance or to “keep it off the books.”
- A sudden reassignment. Being moved to a worse shift, a lower-paying role, or a job that conflicts with your medical restrictions.
Other Laws That May Protect You
A workers’ comp retaliation claim is often just one piece of the picture. Depending on your injury and your employer’s size, other laws may apply:
- Disability laws. The ADA, the West Virginia Human Rights Act, and Ohio’s civil rights law may require reasonable accommodations, like light duty or a modified schedule, and they prohibit firing someone because of a disability. See our page on disability discrimination.
- Medical leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act can provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for eligible employees with a serious health condition.
- General retaliation laws. Complaining about unsafe conditions can be protected activity too. Learn more about employer retaliation.
These claims can carry broader remedies than the workers’ comp statutes, and a single firing can break more than one law. That’s why the first conversation with a lawyer should cover everything that happened, not just the injury.
Light Duty, Restrictions, and “No Work Available”
Many retaliation cases start when a doctor clears you to return with restrictions, like no lifting over 20 pounds or no ladders. Some employers welcome the worker back on light duty. Others say there’s nothing available and let the job slip away. Whether that’s lawful depends on the facts. An employer that gives light-duty work to other employees, or that refuses to consider a reasonable accommodation, may be crossing a line. Keep copies of every work status note from your doctor, and keep a record of what your employer said when you offered to come back. In West Virginia, the right to be reinstated under the workers’ comp law depends on a written demand sent to the employer’s principal office by U.S. mail, return receipt requested.
What Your Employer Can Still Do
It’s worth being realistic. Filing a claim doesn’t make you impossible to fire. An employer can still discipline or let go of an injured worker for reasons that have nothing to do with the claim, like a genuine layoff that affects others too, serious misconduct, or a policy applied the same way to everyone. In West Virginia, though, a worker who is off work and receiving, or eligible for, temporary total disability benefits can generally be fired only for misconduct unrelated to the injury. The question in every case is whether the stated reason is the real reason. That’s why dates, details, and comparisons with coworkers matter so much, and why a lawyer will want to see your whole file, not just the termination letter.
When Someone Else Caused Your Injury
Workers’ compensation generally prevents you from suing your own employer over the injury itself. Both states allow suits against an employer only in narrow cases involving deliberate or intentional conduct, or when the employer failed to carry required workers’ comp coverage. But if a third party caused your injury, like a delivery driver who hit you, a subcontractor’s crew, or a defective machine, you may have a separate personal injury claim against that party. Those claims can include pain and suffering, which workers’ comp doesn’t pay. Read more about workplace injury claims.
What to Do This Week
- Write down the timeline. Date of injury, date you reported it, date you filed the claim, and every conversation about your job since then.
- Save documents. Termination letters, write-ups, texts, schedules, and anything showing how coworkers were treated.
- In Ohio, get written notice to your employer out quickly. An attorney can prepare and send it so the 90-day deadline isn’t missed.
- Keep treating and keep your comp claim moving. Your medical records matter in both cases.
- Don’t sign a separation or severance agreement until someone reviews what you’d be giving up.
- File for unemployment. Being fired doesn’t automatically disqualify you, and a retaliation claim doesn’t stop you from applying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ comp claim?
Not legally. West Virginia and Ohio both prohibit retaliation for pursuing workers’ compensation. An employer can still fire an injured worker for a legitimate, unrelated reason, so the facts and the timing matter.
How long do I have to act in Ohio?
Under Ohio Revised Code § 4123.90, your employer must receive written notice of the violation within 90 days of the firing or other punitive action, and the lawsuit must be filed within 180 days of that action. Missing the notice deadline can end the claim.
Can my employer fire me while I’m off work on workers’ comp in West Virginia?
West Virginia law bars firing an injured worker who is off work due to a compensable injury and receiving, or eligible to receive, temporary total disability benefits, unless the worker committed misconduct wholly unrelated to the injury. Injury-related absences don’t count. Each case depends on its facts.
What if my employer says I was fired for attendance?
Courts look at whether that reason is real. If the absences were tied to your injury or treatment, or other employees weren’t disciplined the same way, the stated reason may be a cover for retaliation.
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ comp retaliation claim?
You aren’t required to have one, but the deadlines and proof rules are strict, especially in Ohio. A lawyer can send the required notice, preserve evidence, and spot other claims that may apply.
Don’t Let a Comp Claim Cost You Your Job
Getting hurt at work is hard enough. Losing your paycheck for reporting it is worse. You have rights, but in Ohio especially, they come with a clock. Klie Law Offices has stood up for injured and mistreated workers since 2005, and every client gets a paralegal assigned to their case who is usually reachable during business hours.
Request your free case evaluation or book an appointment online today. Founding attorney Erika Klie Kolenich leads a team serving workers from Buckhannon, Clarksburg, Morgantown, Parkersburg, and Canton, Ohio. See more about retaliatory discharge and our full employment law practice.
