The Tangled Web: Navigating Workers' Compensation and Disability Discrimination

When an employee is injured on the job, the first and most obvious path is filing a workers' compensation claim. This system is designed to provide medical benefits and wage replacement for work-related injuries. However, the employer's obligations do not end there. Many employers and employees alike fail to recognize that a single workplace injury can trigger rights under two separate and distinct areas of law: the state workers' compensation system and federal and state disability discrimination laws, such as California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

The primary overlap occurs when a work-related injury results in an impairment that qualifies as a "disability." While workers' compensation provides benefits for the injury itself, FEHA governs how the employer must treat the employee with that disability. A temporary strain that heals completely may not be a disability, but an injury requiring surgery, imposing permanent restrictions, or limiting a major life activity (like lifting, standing, or working) almost certainly is. This means that even as an employee receives workers' comp benefits, they are simultaneously protected from discrimination based on their new disability.

This two-track system creates a critical set of obligations for employers. While the workers' compensation process assesses medical progress and impairment ratings, disability law requires the employer to engage in a “timely, good faith, interactive process” with the employee. The goal of this is to determine if a “reasonable accommodation” exists that would allow the employee to perform the essential functions of a job. This could include modified work duties, a flexible schedule, or reassignment to a vacant position, among others.

One of the most common and costly mistakes an employer can make is terminating an employee simply because their workers' comp leave has been exhausted or because a doctor states they cannot return to their original job. Disability law forbids “100%” or “fully healed” policies. An employer must first explore all reasonable accommodations, and can only deny a return to work if doing so would create an "undue hardship" on the business.

Furthermore, any negative action taken against an employee for asserting their rights under either system can lead to serious legal trouble. It is illegal for an employer to fire, demote, or otherwise retaliate against a worker for filing a workers' compensation claim. This act of retaliation can often form the basis for both a workers' comp retaliation claim (such as under Labor Code § 132a) and a separate disability discrimination lawsuit, creating significant and compounded liability for the employer.

Suppose you have any workplace issues that touch on both your work-related injury and the treatment you’ve received as a result of your workplace injury. In that case, the teams at Hosseini Legal as well as Beach Cities Legal and Workers Comp Lawyer can guide you through this difficult process.