For many employees, their workers’ compensation rights and responsibilities are not well understood. The regulations can be complicated and confusing, and they vary from state to state. If you have sustained an on-the-job illness or injury, you should know that you do have the right to visit a workers’ compensation law firm in the Baltimore area. You can have a workers’ compensation attorney review your case and provide personalized guidance. It’s particularly important to consult a workers’ compensation attorney if you feel that your employer may have violated your legal rights.
You Have Not Been Advised of Your Legal Rights
Employers are required by law to post a notice of compliance in a conspicuous place where employees could reasonably be expected to see it, such as in a break room. The notice must provide information about employee rights, disclose the name of the company’s workers’ compensation carrier, provide information about the available workers’ compensation benefits, and inform injured workers that they have the right to receive medical treatment. Advise your attorney at law if your employer has not complied with this requirement.
You Have Not Been Provided with Claim Forms
After an injury occurs in the workplace, employees must report the incident right away. Within 24 hours of the incident being reported, the employer is required to provide the injured worker with claim forms and written information about the employee’s workers’ compensation rights. The written information must include details about filing a claim and the available benefits. The failure of an employer to do this is an indicator of employee rights violations.
You Have Been Treated in a Discriminatory Fashion
Employees are protected by law from retaliatory actions initiated by their employers. This means that after you report an incident and file a claim for compensation, employers are barred from initiating discriminatory actions against you. Inform a workers’ compensation attorney promptly if you feel that you have been the recipient of retaliatory acts in the workplace. Some examples of retaliatory acts include being unfairly demoted, having hours or wages cut, being unfairly reassigned to a position of lesser value, or being unfairly terminated.