Term Yes or No

bbarrett

I have two employees who went out on WC and I just found out they will not be back for at least 1-2 months. I have filled the positions due to our business nedds. If I have no positions open for them when they return can we term? We are a small employee and I had to fill the positions.

System

If the subject employees are on approved FMLA leave and the same is running concurrent with the WC leave, their positions are protected until the FMLA leave is exhausted.

ray a

Fill the the positions with temporary ee's. Tell the temps they have work only for as long as your full-time ee's are on WC - 1 to 2 months. Then when the full-time ee's are ready to come back to work, release the temps. And even if you didn't "approve" these ee's for FMLA they may still qualify and be protected. Doesn't sound like a good idea to terminate when people go on short term WC or Disability.

Whatever

Terminating an ee who has filed an workers' comp claim can appear to be retribution (even if they are not entitled to FMLA). I agree with the idea of filing the positions with temporaries.

Don D

In my state, comp is not a job protection statute. Comp is a tricky animal in Texas. Call your Texas Comp Commission before making a final decision. You may indeed have to have employment for them when they are medically released. I assume from the description of your company you aren't covered by the FMLA. That's a guess on my part of course.

System

bbarrett,

Here in Maryland I wouldn't. Could you fill the positions with temps? Can you create modified work assignments for the injured employees. This is a convenient time of year for injured workers to lay out while drawing a check for lost wages. Check with your WC carrier who has legal staff or with your own legal counsel before you decide to term.

"Sam"

JanH

You did not say how many employees you had; however, I believe that if you have less than 50 employees you do not fall under the FMLA guidelines. However, if you have more than 50 employees, you can terminate them after their 12 weeks of FMLA which can run concurrently with the Worker's Comp. Be aware that they would still be drawing Worker's Comp. even if they were terminated.