Palm Beach County Firm Defends Your Rights against Workers’ Comp Retaliation

File a claim for your workplace injury without fear of losing your job in Florida

By law, you have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim after an on-the-job accident. Your employer is obligated to maintain workers’ compensation insurance and to take specific steps to submit your claim. If your employer believes your claim in not valid, the law provides procedures to challenge this. Your employer is not allowed to retaliate against you under any circumstances. Drawing on almost three decades of experience, Louis Pfeffer, the founding attorney of Pfeffer & Associates, protects the rights of injured Florida workers to receive crucial medical care and lost wages after a workplace accident.

Our employment lawyer can guide you through each step of your case and take immediate action if your employer attempts to bar your access to your benefits or persuade you not to file. Learn the answers to frequently asked questions and consult with our firm for a free initial evaluation of your claim.

Florida laws that prohibit retaliation

Florida Statute 440.225 specifically forbids employers from discharging, threatening with termination, intimidating or coercing employees who have exercised the right to file a valid claim. Actions that may be considered retaliation include:

Demotion Denial of privileges Reassignment to undesirable shifts Harassment

Threats Termination of employment Claiming drug use with no proof

Why your employer might retaliate against you

The amount an insurance carrier may charge a business in workers’ compensation premiums varies, depending on risk classification codes and assessments. A company with repeated safety and health violations or one that files a high number of claims may be subject to higher premiums. To avoid added expenses, your employer may try to intimidate you or coerce you into forfeiting your rights or may claim that your claim is a fraud.

Commonly, employers cite these reasons for interfering with workers’ compensation rights:

The claim will increase insurance premiums. The worker’s injury will hurt business efficiency. There is a perception that an injured worker is “damaged goods.” The employer believes that the clam is fraudulent.

An injured worker will be prone to further injuries. The injured worker is not a team player. An injured worker will cause morale problems. Other workers will file workers’ compensation claims.

Proving your retaliation claim

Our firm may seek to prove your claim through direct evidence, circumstantial evidence or a combination of both, which might include:

• Statements made by your employer or its agent
• Timing of your discharge or mistreatment in relation to your filing of a compensation claim
• History of treatment of other employees who filed workers’ compensation claims
• A sudden change in your employer’s attitude when a workers’ compensation claim is filed
• Disciplinary actions taken by your employer after the claim is filed
• Evidence that your employer’s stated reason for a discharge or mistreatment is bogus

Our legal team pursues all available legal remedies for retaliation in civil court, including monetary damages for past wages, future earnings, pain, suffering, emotional distress and punitive relief.

Defend your right to file a workers’ compensation claim in Florida

To learn more about your right to file a claim for workers’ compensation and the steps you can take if your employer retaliates against you, call Pfeffer & Associates at 561-745-8011 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation. Our attorney can represent you in your workers’ compensation and retaliation cases on a contingency fee basis. We have Spanish translators available as needed.