When an injured worker is terminated, and the reason for job termination, are important. If an injured worker files a claim for an injury after he is fired or layed off, then the law presumes that the claim is not valid. Recently, the Nevada Supreme Court interpreted NRS 616C.150(2) in Levinson v. Milko, 124 Nev. Adv. Op. 35 (2008), and stated that the injured worker must prove that the injury did not occur after the worker was terminated.
Until recently, it was difficult for injured workers to get temporary total disability benefits while recovering from injuries while they had temporary work restrictions if the employee was fired while working on temporary light duty. The insurer would deny TTD benefits because the employer would have had light duty work available if the employee had not been fired for cause. Hearings and appeals officers rarely questioned the reason the employer fired the injured worker.
A.B.281, Section 5 amends NRS 616C.232 to make it clear that only compensation for TTD may be denied. S.B. 195, Section 4, additionally amends that statute, effective October 1, 2009, to require that only a discharge for gross misconduct will disqualify an injured worker from TTD benefits.
