Can You Be Fired While on Workers’ Comp in NY?

You can be fired while on workers’ comp in New York, but not because you filed a workers’ compensation claim. Section 120 of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Law makes retaliation illegal. Everything else about New York’s at-will employment rules still applies, so a legitimate business reason unrelated to your claim can support a lawful termination even while you are collecting benefits.¹

The Line Between a Lawful Firing and Retaliation

Section 120 makes it unlawful for an employer to fire, demote, or otherwise discriminate against you because you filed or tried to file a workers’ compensation claim, requested a claim form, or testified in a workers’ compensation proceeding.¹ The Workers’ Compensation Board says the same thing plainly: your employer cannot discriminate against you for filing or planning to file.²

The word that does the work is “because.” An employer who fires you the day after your claim and offers no other credible explanation is in a very different position than one who eliminates your department six months later. Proving retaliation means showing the connection between your claim and the action taken against you. Timing that closely follows your filing, sudden negative reviews with no prior history, a demotion, or supervisor comments about your injury or claim all strengthen that connection.

If the Board finds a Section 120 violation, it can order reinstatement, lost wages, and attorney fees. The employer also faces a civil penalty between $100 and $500.¹ The penalty is modest; the back pay and reinstatement order are where the real exposure sits.

Lawful Reasons You Can Still Be Let Go

Being on workers’ comp does not make you unfireable. Legitimate grounds unrelated to your claim include:

Layoffs or restructuring that eliminate positions for economic or organizational reasons, even if yours is among them.
Policy violations or misconduct, such as breaking a no-call no-show rule or workplace conduct standard.
Documented poor performance that predates your injury and was already being addressed through write-ups or reviews.
Inability to fill the role. New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law does not require your employer to hold your job open indefinitely, and if your injury prevents you from returning and the position must be filled for business reasons, the employer can fill it.³

Pay attention to the paper trail. If your employer suddenly discovers performance problems only after you file, that timing alone can support a retaliation argument.

Job-Protection Laws That May Cover You Separately

Workers’ compensation itself does not protect your job. Other laws sometimes do.

FMLA

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act can provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for a serious health condition, including a workplace injury. During that window, your employer must hold your job or place you in an equivalent position when you return, meaning the same pay, benefits, shift schedule, and duties.⁴

You qualify only if you have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave began, and work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.⁵ Smaller employers are generally not covered. FMLA leave is unpaid, but it runs alongside your workers’ comp benefits, so you receive wage replacement through workers’ comp while the FMLA clock protects the position. Once the 12 weeks expire, that shield is gone, though Section 120 protections remain.

Disability Laws

A workplace injury does not automatically qualify as a disability, but when it does, two more laws apply. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities unless doing so imposes an undue hardship.⁶ Accommodations can include modified schedules, restructured duties, assistive equipment, or reassignment to a vacant position you can perform.

New York’s Human Rights Law reaches further, applies to all employers in the state with no minimum employee threshold, and uses a broader definition of disability than the ADA: the impairment does not need to be “substantial” or affect a “major life activity.”⁷ Both laws require the employer to engage with you in an interactive process to identify possible accommodations. An employer who fires you without exploring accommodations may face a discrimination claim on top of a Section 120 retaliation claim. Policies demanding you be “100 percent healed” before returning have been struck down by courts when the employee could have done the job with a reasonable accommodation.

Your Benefits Continue After Termination

Losing your job does not end your workers’ comp. The benefits attach to the injury, not the employment relationship, and the insurance carrier that covered your employer on the date of injury stays responsible for paying them.

New York calculates wage replacement at two-thirds of your average weekly wages, subject to a yearly cap.⁸ For injuries occurring between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the maximum weekly benefit is $1,222.42.⁹ Your rate locks in based on the date of injury and does not change if the maximum is adjusted later. Medical treatment for the injury should also continue to be covered.

How to File a Retaliation Complaint

If you believe you were fired because of your claim, file a Discrimination Claim using Form DC-120 with the New York Workers’ Compensation Board. You have two years from the date the discrimination occurred to file.²

The form asks for your information, your employer’s information, and a description of what happened, including the date of termination and why you believe it was retaliatory. Once your complaint is received, the Board notifies your employer and may schedule hearings.

Two years sounds generous, but waiting weakens the case. The closer your complaint is in time to the firing, the stronger the connection looks. Keep everything: your original claim paperwork, correspondence with your employer about your injury or return to work, performance reviews, and any communications that hint at the real reason for the decision. If a supervisor said something about your claim being a problem, write down what was said, when, and who else was present. That kind of detail carries real weight when the Board evaluates the complaint.

1
New York State Senate. New York Workers Compensation Law 120 – Discrimination Against Employees
2
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Workers’ Compensation Discrimination Claim
3
New York Workers’ Compensation Board. Your Employer’s Rights and Responsibilities
4
U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA Frequently Asked Questions
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12112 – Discrimination
7
New York State Senate. New York Executive Law 296 – Unlawful Discriminatory Practices
8
New York State Senate. New York Workers Compensation Law 15 – Schedule in Case of Disability
9
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Schedule of Maximum Weekly Benefit