Can an employerfire someone if they are injured twice on the job?
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Can an employerfire someone if they are injured twice on the job?
I am a laborer and work in a factory. My employer said that if I get injured on the job 2 times and go to the hospital, they will fire me. No matter what the circumstances are. I got hurt the other day at work and I didn’t want to go to the hospital because I don’t want to get hurt by accident again and it be really serious and get fired from my job. I had a staple go through my fingernail to the bottom of my finger where it came out at. I just want to know if this rule at my work is actually legal?
Asked on January 21, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
There is no hard and fast rule--it depends on the circumstances. An employer should not fire someone for being injured on the job when it's not their fault, whether it was the first time, second, tenth, etc. On the other hand, if the injury occured because an employee was not following safety instructions or procedures, not using safety gear, was being careless or inattentive, etc., then it may well be the case that they could be fired lawfully--employers may fire people for violating work rules and directives, and are not required to expose themselves to legal liabilty because an employee won't take care. So really depends alot on whether you have some fault or not in the injury.
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