What to do if my employer told me I was disabled after returning to work from workers comp with a 20 pound restriction?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What to do if my employer told me I was disabled after returning to work from workers comp with a 20 pound restriction?

She sent me home and after 6 days into the new school year, she finally fired me. Did she violate any law?

Asked on October 3, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, New Jersey

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

The issue is, what is your job, and can you do it with a 20 lb restriction? An employer must make reasonable accomodations to employees with disabilities; but the employee must still basically be able to do the job. So, say that your job is cafeteria worker--while it's convenient to be able to lift heavy bags of flour, sugar, etc., it's not critical to the job, since you are one of a team, and other team members could lift the heavy stuff. In that case, if by changing your duties slightly so that other cafeteria workers lift heavy weights and you do the lighter things, you could then do your job, the employer would seem to not be able to terminate you, but would rather have to accomodate you in this way. On the other hand, say that you are janitorial/custodial/maintenance staff, and if you cannot lift 20 lbs (e.g. tools, supplies, parts, etc.) you can't do your job--then the employer could likely terminate you, since an employer is not obligated to retain employees who can't do what they were hired to do.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption