Attorneys
Last Updated: 3/16/2023
Under Iowa law, unless you have a written employment contract then you are most likely an employee at will. This means that you can be fired at any time for any reason or no reason at all. However, if you are a union member you can file a grievance in an attempt to try to get your job back. Also, if your employer violates an employment law such as the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), etc. then you may be able to successfully get your job back by filing a complaint with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) or Iowa Civil Rights Commission.
Under Iowa law, unless you have a written employment contract then you are most likely an employee at will. This means that you can be fired at any time for any reason or no reason at all. However, if you are a union member you can file a grievance in an attempt to try to get your job back. Also, if your employer violates an employment law such as the There are short time limits to file these complaints, follow specific rules and then potentially file a lawsuit so you should definitely consult with an attorney who is qualified to discuss not only your workers' compensation case but also your potential employment law case. Our attorneys can discuss both of these aspects with you to see what may be done in addition to your workers' compensation claim. However, if you are already represented by a workers' compensation attorney then you should start by talking to your current attorney.
Tips For Your Workers’ Compensation Claim
Do Not Leave Your Job Voluntarily
Please under almost no circumstances should you quit your job, resign and/or agree to leave your job while you have a workers' compensation claim pending. This can be devastating financially to you for a number of reasons including it will likely reduce the value of your workers' compensation case, you may not receive unemployment benefits, you will likely not receive weekly work comp checks, etc. If they want you to leave the job, make them fire you because this will help your claims in a number of ways.
Keep in mind that if you are fired while on light duty it may have a significant impact on your workers' compensation case. Hopefully, you are not fired for "cause" because if you are then chances are the insurance company will deny paying you TTD (temporary total disability) benefits while you are on restrictions prior to reaching MMI (maximum medical improvement).
It is common for the insurance company to initially deny these benefits until an Iowa attorney sends them the law about this and explains that they may be subject to penalty for failing to continue paying TTD. We have helped hundreds of injured workers get their TTD benefits started and also help them decide if, and when, they should file for unemployment.
What About Filing For Unemployment?
You should not immediately file for unemployment if your ongoing TTD request is not granted. This is because you may be wasting your unemployment as you are not allowed to receive both TTD and unemployment benefits at the same time. However, you can eventually receive unemployment and PPD (permanent partial disability) benefits if certain legal requirements are met. These requirements are very specific, and we have helped hundreds of injured workers eventually receive both unemployment and their PPD benefits at the same time. Although, if you try to do it on your own and it is not done properly then chances are, we are not going to be able to fix things after the fact.
On another note, even if Iowa Workforce says you do not qualify because you do not have enough work credits, don't assume they are correct. If you have missed 3 or more quarters while receiving TTD then we can help file an appeal so that the correct quarters are used prior to your work injury in an attempt to obtain your unemployment benefits. Keep in mind that your unemployment claim is very important to your workers' compensation case. If you have an attorney who says "we don't handle unemployment claims" this should raise a big red flag. Obtaining your unemployment not allowing gives you another source of income for up to 26 weeks, but also can increase the value of your workers' compensation case by tens of thousands of dollars. If we are helping you with your workers' compensation case, we do not charge you any fees while handling your unemployment claim. If we are successful in your workers' compensation case then you pay us a flat fee at the end of your workers' compensation case.
So while you can be fired while on light duty, as you can see with the legal help you have several options that we can pursue in order to keep an income source for you, potentially getting your job back, and/or getting you additional workers’ compensation benefits. If you have questions about any of the above, please feel free to contact or call our office ((641) 792-3595) at no cost for your Iowa work injury evaluation. We will take the time to speak with you (usually by phone at first and then often later in person), answer your questions, explain how the process works.
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