UT: Comp Claim Need Not Be Filed Before Termination to Support Retaliatory Discharge Action

An appellate court in Utah recently reversed a trial court’s decision that had granted summary judgment to an employer in a retaliatory discharge action, holding that an employee had stated a cause of action in spite of the fact that his termination was eight months prior to the filing of his workers’ compensation claim.  The appellate court noted that within four days of the injury, the employee advised the employer’s president that he intended to file a claim.   The court indicated the actual filing of a claim need not occur prior to the termination to come within the protections afforded by the retaliatory discharge rule.

Reported by Thomas A. Robinson, J.D.

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See Stone v. M & M Welding & Constr., 2013 UT App 233, 2013 Utah App. LEXIS 236 (Sept. 26, 2013) [2013 UT App 233, 2013 Utah App. LEXIS 236 (Sept. 26, 2013)]

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 104.07 [104.07]

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law.

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