When you suffer a work-related injury in Florida, you have a right to seek workers’ compensation insurance coverage from your employer. You also have the right to do so without facing some type of retaliation in response to exercising this right.
Per the Florida Senate, Florida Statute 440.205 prevents employers from being able to take retaliatory action against you because you decide to pursue workers’ compensation insurance from that employer.
What Florida Statute 440.205 dictates
Essentially, Florida Statute 440.205 asserts that your employer may not take any type of retaliatory action against you for making a valid, legitimate claim for workers’ compensation. The statute prevents employers from firing or threatening to fire an employee who makes a claim for this type of coverage. It also prevents employers from attempting to intimidate or coerce an employee after that employee makes a workers’ compensation claim. Any other form of harassment or threatening that takes place after you make a workers’ compensation claim may also fall under the “retaliation” umbrella.
What you must prove in a retaliation case
The strength of a retaliation case against an employer depends on your ability to prove several things. First, you need to show that you were engaging in a protected activity by pursuing workers’ compensation coverage in the first place. Then, you need to demonstrate how your employer took adverse action against you for doing so. Finally, you need to show a connection between your seeking workers’ compensation and your employer taking adverse action against you.
Employees who pursue workers’ compensation claims only to have their employers retaliate against them may have grounds for a case.
