Can They HARASS ME For Filing Workers Comp?

Your Employer Is Betting You'll Back Down — Here's Why You Shouldn't

I've been handling workers' compensation cases in Illinois for close to 30 years, and one of the ugliest things I see is employers who harass, intimidate, and punish workers for having the nerve to file a workers' comp claim. They do it because it works. Most injured workers don't know their rights, they're scared of losing their job, and when the pressure starts, they fold. They drop their claim, go back to work too early, or accept a garbage settlement just to make it stop. The employer wins. The insurance company wins. And the worker who got hurt doing their job gets nothing.

Don't be that person.

Here's what you need to understand: your employer's behavior after you file a workers' comp claim tells you everything about how they view their employees. A good employer follows the law, cooperates with the process, and helps you get back on your feet. A bad employer sees your injury as an inconvenience and your claim as a threat to their insurance premiums. They'll do whatever they think they can get away with to make you go away.

The tactics I see most often are subtle at first. Your supervisor stops talking to you. You get left off the schedule for a few shifts. You hear through the grapevine that people are saying you're faking your injury. Then it escalates. You get written up for things that were never a problem before. Your hours get cut. You get moved to a different department or a worse shift. And if none of that works, they find a reason to fire you — "restructuring," "performance issues," whatever excuse they can come up with.

Here's the thing: Illinois courts see right through this. If you were a solid employee with no disciplinary issues before your workers' comp claim, and suddenly you're being written up and terminated after you filed, judges and juries aren't stupid. The timing tells the story. That's why I tell every one of my clients to document everything from the moment they file their claim. Keep a written log of every interaction with your supervisor, every comment made about your injury, every schedule change, every write-up. Save every email and text message. This documentation becomes the evidence that proves retaliation.

And here's what a lot of workers don't realize: getting fired for filing workers' comp can actually increase your total recovery. Your workers' comp benefits continue regardless of whether you're employed — your right to medical treatment, TTD, and a permanent disability settlement doesn't go away because they fired you. But now you also have a retaliatory discharge claim, which is a separate lawsuit where you can recover lost wages, emotional distress damages, and potentially punitive damages. I've had cases where the retaliatory discharge claim was worth more than the workers' comp case itself.

The worst thing you can do is quit. That's what they want. If you quit, you lose your retaliatory discharge claim, you may jeopardize your TTD benefits, and you've given the employer exactly what they were pushing for. No matter how miserable they make your work life, do not quit without talking to a lawyer first.

If your employer is harassing you, intimidating you, or retaliating against you for filing a workers' comp claim, call us at 312-500-4500. We'll put a stop to it and make sure they pay for their illegal conduct.

Retaliatory Discharge

She can just tell everybody's treating her differently at work so here's what I told her. If we have a worker's comp case filed and they fire you or if there's harassment involving racial discrimination, sexual or gender discrimination, you're a woman and you work with a bunch of men and now they treat you badly or if it's racial or if it's even sexual orientation or anything like that. Those are things we can file a lawsuit.

It's against federal discrimination laws to discriminate against somebody on that basis. But there's also something called retaliatory discharge, which means you get fired for filing a worker's comp claim. If they fire you and push you out of the company for filing a worker's comp claim, that sounds good. Then we can sue them and we can hold them to account for their bad behavior.

Focus On Your Medical Care

You shouldn't be treated like that, and if the if the harassment and the bad treatment reaches a certain level, then we definitely can sue on it. But if they're just giving you a little bit of a hard time, that's not something we can sue over. Better that we get you your medical care, make sure if you're off work you're getting paid and make sure that you get a lump sum of money at the end of the case that fairly pays you for the injuries sustained while you were on the job.

This may not be the answer some people were looking for, but it's really the truth and that's what I actually tell my clients.

Frequently Asked Questions: 

Q1: Can my employer legally harass me for filing a workers' comp claim?

Absolutely not. Illinois law prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for exercising their rights under the Workers' Compensation Act. Retaliation includes firing, demotion, reduction of hours, reassignment to undesirable duties, verbal harassment, intimidation, and creating a hostile work environment designed to pressure you into dropping your claim. If your employer is doing any of these things, they're breaking the law.

Q2: What are the signs that my employer is retaliating against me for filing workers' comp?

Common signs include sudden negative performance reviews that didn't exist before your claim, being excluded from meetings or projects you were previously part of, having your hours cut or your schedule changed to inconvenient shifts, being written up for minor infractions that were previously ignored, coworkers or supervisors making comments about your claim or your injury, and being moved to a less desirable position. If the timing lines up with your workers' comp filing, it's probably not a coincidence.

Q3: What should I do if my employer is harassing me after I filed workers' comp?

Document everything. Write down every incident — dates, times, what was said, who was present. Save any emails, texts, or written communications that show harassment or retaliation. Do not quit your job, because that's exactly what they want. Report the harassment to HR in writing so there's a record. And call a workers' comp attorney immediately at 312-500-4500. We can take legal action to stop the harassment and pursue additional damages for the retaliation.

Q4: Can I get additional compensation if my employer retaliates against me for filing workers' comp?

Yes. If your employer fires you or takes other retaliatory action because you filed a workers' comp claim, you may have a separate civil claim for retaliatory discharge under Illinois common law. Damages can include lost wages, emotional distress, and in some cases punitive damages designed to punish the employer for their illegal conduct. This claim is separate from and in addition to your workers' compensation benefits.

Q5: What if my employer fires me while I'm on workers' comp?

Being fired doesn't end your workers' comp case. Your right to medical treatment, TTD benefits (if you're still unable to work), and a permanent disability settlement survives termination. And if you were fired because you filed the claim, you have a retaliatory discharge case on top of your workers' comp case. Don't panic, don't sign any severance agreements, and call a lawyer immediately at 312-500-4500. The firing may actually have made your total recovery larger, not smaller.

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