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Terminate someone while they're out on L&I?

HoratioHoratio 3 Posts
in HR & Employment Law Vote Up0Vote Down
We have someone who has been gone for 4 months due to an L&I claim. This person is not missed, the work is getting done and we don't need to employ this person anymore. Can we lay this person off now? Can we say their post has been eliminated? Should we give no reason as the person is an "employee at will"? I'd appreciate some advice. I'm the HR at a small company. Thanks.
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  • 7 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • marcmarc 3,126 Posts
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    What is an L&I claim?
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  • HoratioHoratio 3 Posts
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    L&I stands for Labor & Industies. The employer pays L&I premiums so that each employee is covered for accidents/injuries which occur while working. So if the injury is work related L&I will pay for the medical treatment as well as for income loss if the employee is unable to work.
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  • IrieIrie 482 Posts
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    Check your state laws. In some states it is illegal to terminate someone who is not working due to a work-related inujury. Also contact an attorney who will be able to guide you through this.
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  • ACU FrankACU Frank 2,188 Posts
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    [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 04-29-07 AT 08:45AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Holy cow! We're talking about firing someone who is out on a work comp claim? I can't imagine that is legal in WA. Even if it is, it's probably a bad idea, setting you up for a retaliation claim with this employee, or creating the groundwork for a coercion claim later on when another employee gets injured and says he was afraid to report it because "everyone knows they fire you for reporting injuries here."
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  • Paul in Cannon BeachPaul in Cannon Beach 4,703 Posts
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    I think you are stuck with this employee for now. Once the employee comes back, document your reasons for dismissal (poor work, bad attitude, etc). Make sure that the employee is notified that these issues exist.

    If no progress is made, terminate in 6-9 months.

    If you terminate now, you would be putting your organization at risk for a lawsuit.
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  • aliciacaliciac 88 Posts
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    I'm in WA...and like most other places, you can't terminate someone who is out on L&I. We encourage workers to come back to light duty. If their doctor releases them for a light duy assignment that you can acommodate they have to take it or risk losing their L&I benefits. If they refuse the doctor approved light duty and lose their benefits, then you can terminate...but you should still speak to an attorney.
    It's shown that if you can get a worker to come back to a light duty job they manage to get better faster than just sitting at home getting paid by the state. We often create special light duty jobs just to get a worker back in the habit of coming to work, such as greeting customers who enter the store. It also helps a lot to keep your experiance rating down because you have a lower incidence of time loss.
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  • HoratioHoratio 3 Posts
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    Thank you all for your helpful replies! This is the first time I've used the Forum and I have been pleasantly surprised.
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