Workers’ compensation laws offer Mississippi workers a number of important protections against the harshest consequences of on-the-job injuries. Injured workers wondering, “Can you be terminated while on workers’ comp?” may be discouraged to learn that protection against termination of employment, unfortunately, is not usually one of the benefits provided to employees under the state’s current laws. However, you may still be able to pursue a claim for benefits to cover the costs of treatment for injuries you received on the job, even if you are fired during your recovery period. Call Lott Law Firm at (228) 215-2787 to discuss the particulars of your situation with one of our experienced Mississippi workers’ compensation attorneys.
What Is Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ compensation, also known as workers’ comp, is a form of insurance policy that pays for medical treatments and in many cases also covers a percentage of wages lost due to missed work when an employee is injured on the job. Most employers in the United States are required to carry some form of workers’ compensation insurance, but the specific rules that determine workers’ eligibility and employers’ financial obligations, as well as how workers’ comp programs are administered, vary from state to state.
History of Workers’ Comp Programs
According to a 1999 article in The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal, made available through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the concept of workers’ compensation dates back to antiquity, and faded in the Western world through the feudalism of the Middle Ages, to re-emerge late in the Medieval period as English common law, growing in importance throughout the Renaissance and into the early modern period. Some of the principles of workers’ compensation, as the 1999 article explains, became enshrined in case law as the close proximity of minimally-trained workers with machinery lacking most safety protocols created proliferating occasions for on-the-job injuries. During this period, the “only recourse” for an employee injured in the course of his or her job duties was through civil torts law.
Federal System
In the United States, early attempts at creating a legal framework that would buffer injured workers from the effects of injuries received on the job and offer employers a defense against the losses that could be associated with civil torts cases began at the federal level, under the auspices of the “commerce clause” of the United States Constitution, which gives Congress the power to regulate interstate trade. The earliest legislation passed under this rubric was signed by President Taft in 1908, but as the United States Department of Labor (DOL) points out, the legislation only impacted employees of the federal government whose regular job duties were considered “unusually hazardous,” and even for Federal employees who met the criteria for coverage, the benefits provided under the new law were “quite limited.”
Mississippi’s Workers’ Compensation Law
Today, all states except for Texas require employers in most industries to maintain some form of workers’ compensation insurance. The specific requirements for that coverage depend on the laws of each state, and in most cases on the rules set out by a legislatively created regulatory body created to provide statewide oversight.
In Mississippi, that regulatory body is the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which as the Commission explains was formed as part of the state’s 1948 passage of the Workers’ Compensation Law “to supervise and monitor” workers’ compensation claims filed under the new law. Mississippi’s Workers’ Compensation Law requires employers with at least five employers on their regular rosters to maintain workers’ comp coverage, with exemptions for the following types of employers:
- Domestic labor
- Farm labor
- Nonprofit organizations
Some employers, including federal agencies operating in Mississippi and employers in some maritime and transport industries, are exempt because their workers’ comp requirements are regulated by Federal laws. Employers not required by law to maintain workers’ compensation insurance policies may still voluntarily choose to contract with a third-party insurer; many Mississippi businesses also opt to self-insure.
What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover?
There are two main types of benefits that employers’ workers’ compensation policies in Mississippi will typically cover:
- Medical care: Medical benefits cover the costs of treatment for your job-related injuries. Depending on the circumstances, these treatments could consist of a single visit to an urgent care center, or of an extended process of rehabilitation and physical therapy.
- Wage replacement: If an employee must miss more than five days of work as a result of injuries they sustained in the course of their job duties, then they are also entitled to benefits to partially cover the cost of their lost wages – up to two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly pay or the state maximum set by the Mississippi legislature, whichever is lower. This benefit is also capped at a total claim maximum amount and number of payments.
Importantly for workers wondering, “Can you be terminated while on workers’ comp?” even though workers’ comp provides some protection against the economic distress occasioned by a loss of wages, workers’ compensation rules in Mississippi do not require the employer to “hold” an employee’s job while they are receiving wage replacement benefits. However, the termination of employment does not necessarily terminate the former employee’s benefits related to a valid claim for an injury sustained while they were on the job.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Work?
When an employee is injured on the job, he or she has a responsibility to report the injury to the employer – ideally, within 30 days of the injury. The reporting process typically begins with a notification to the injured worker’s immediate supervisor, but businesses are permitted to set their own internal reporting requirements. The employer is then responsible for taking the next step in coverage, which is to submit notification to the insurance provider or to the Workers’ Compensation Commission, depending on the circumstances. There is a two-year statute of limitations on Mississippi workers’ compensation claims, so getting timely assistance may be a priority if you have concerns about the processing of your workers’ compensation claim.
Discuss Your Workers’ Comp Case With an Experienced Mississippi Lawyer
Workers’ comp laws have a long but sometimes frustrating history, and the protections they offer workers can vary widely from state to state. In Mississippi, for employees wondering “Can you be terminated while on workers’ comp?” the answer in many cases is unfortunately yes – but you may still be able to collect the benefits to which you are entitled as a result of your work-related injury. To learn more, or to seek assistance with navigating Mississippi’s workers’ compensation claims process, consider reaching out to Lott Law Firm by calling (228) 215-2787 to be connected with an experienced workers’ comp lawyer at an office near you.
