Terminated for Something I Didn't Do

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: I was injured on the job for 2 wks after I came back I got terminated for supposedly cussing a customer out which is a totally a lie. Is there anything I can do.

Was the injury reported to your workers comp carrier? There's a reason I'm asking.

Yes it was.

Then I would suggest getting in touch with the workers comp commission of your state and reporting what happened. It is not technically illegal to fire someone for something they did not do, but this smells of retaliation for using the workers comp program, which is illegal in every state.

Thank You I will definitly will contact them. Do you think I have a case for wrongful termination also.

It would amount to the same thing. IF you are able to show not just that you were fired for something you didn't do (which is legal) but that you were *actually* fired because you filed a workers comp claim (which is not legal) THEN yes, you would have a wrongful termination claim. But it would not be in additional to the retaliation claim - the two would be more or less the same claim.

if they did not tell you who what where and why the "customer" was lied to then its likely BS -- a court would not allow such vague things in anyway.

If you were represented by counsel in connection with filing your underlying workers’ compensation claim, you will want to consult with him or her concerning your possible retaliatory discharge claim. If you proceeded with your claim without counsel, then you will likely want to contact an attorney who has experience in workers’ compensation mattes to consult with here for the following reason.

In addition to possibly filing a complaint with the workers’ compensation commission in your state, you may potentially have the right to sue your former employer in court for “breach of public policy.” Except for Florida, Georgia and Rhode Island (as of a few years ago), the state courts throughout the country have recognized breach of public policy claims to various degrees. One type of public policy claim, the exercise of a legal right, principally involves retaliation against employees who filed for workers’ compensation insurance benefits. Generally, the courts have readily found that the firing of employees for filing workers’ compensation claims would prove devastatingly corrosive to an essential public policy, the no-fault workers’ compensation scheme uniformly crafted by legislatures for every state in the union.

The practical benefit: aggrieved employees can potentially recover more relief (e.g., punitive damages) in court than in an administrative agency.

Again, you will likely want to consult with an experienced attorney to explore the full range of your rights and options here.

I'm not arguing; I'm asking.

My source is admittedly five years out of date, but at least as of 2006, Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska and New York had also rejected the public policy exception. Do you have a source that shows otherwise so I can update my records?

OP what state are you in?