Retaliation After Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim in Nevada

Filing a workers’ compensation claim after a workplace injury is a legal process, not a favor an employee is asking from an employer. Nevada law provides a workers’ compensation system for employees who suffer qualifying work-related injuries, and employees have specific rights when reporting an injury and pursuing benefits. If you believe your employer fired you because you filed a workers’ compensation claim, you should understand your rights and consider speaking with a Retaliation & Whistleblowing Attorney (Nevada) about the circumstances surrounding your termination.

Retaliation can be especially concerning when an employer initially appears supportive of an injury report but changes its attitude after the claim is filed. A worker may suddenly receive disciplinary warnings, lose scheduled work, be accused of performance problems, or ultimately be terminated. Not every employment decision following a workers’ compensation claim is unlawful, but the timing, communications, prior work history, and stated reason for the decision can become important evidence when evaluating a potential retaliation or wrongful-discharge claim.

What Is Workers’ Compensation Retaliation in Nevada?

Workers’ compensation retaliation generally refers to adverse treatment because an employee exercised rights associated with a workplace injury and workers’ compensation benefits. The clearest Nevada authority concerns retaliatory discharge. In Hansen v. Harrah’s, the Nevada Supreme Court recognized a narrow exception to Nevada’s at-will employment rule for an employee who is discharged because the employee filed a workers’ compensation claim. The Court held that such a retaliatory discharge can support a tort claim based on Nevada public policy.

The reasoning behind that rule is significant. If employees could lose their jobs simply because they sought workers’ compensation benefits after an injury, some injured workers could feel pressured to choose between protecting their employment and pursuing benefits provided through Nevada’s industrial insurance system. The Nevada Supreme Court recognized that allowing such retaliation would undermine the public policy behind workers’ compensation protections.

When Can a Workers’ Comp Claim Become Evidence of Retaliation?

The timing of events can be important. Suppose an employee has worked for a Las Vegas employer for several years without significant disciplinary problems. After suffering a workplace injury, the employee reports the injury, receives medical treatment, and files a workers’ compensation claim. Shortly afterward, the employer begins documenting alleged performance issues that were not previously raised and eventually terminates the employee.

That sequence does not automatically establish unlawful retaliation. An employer may have a legitimate reason for taking disciplinary action or ending employment. However, the employee’s prior work history, the employer’s explanation, the timing of the discipline, statements made by supervisors, and differences between the employee’s treatment before and after the claim can all be relevant when determining whether the workers’ compensation claim played a role in the termination.

Documentation is therefore important. Employees should preserve relevant emails, text messages, disciplinary notices, performance evaluations, schedules, medical documentation, workers’ compensation paperwork, and communications with supervisors or human resources. A clear timeline can help an attorney evaluate whether the employment action appears connected to the claim.

Does Nevada Protect Employees Who File Workers’ Compensation Claims?

Yes, Nevada recognizes a public-policy protection against retaliatory discharge for filing a workers’ compensation claim. The Nevada Supreme Court established this protection in Hansen v. Harrah’s, and later Nevada authorities have continued to recognize wrongful termination claims based on violations of public policy, including retaliation for exercising workers’ compensation rights.

This protection is important because Nevada generally follows the at-will employment doctrine. An at-will employee can ordinarily be terminated for many reasons, but the at-will rule is subject to recognized exceptions. Workers’ compensation retaliation is one of those narrow exceptions when an employer terminates an employee because the employee exercised the right to seek workers’ compensation benefits.

The distinction matters. An employer does not have to keep an employee employed indefinitely simply because the employee has a workers’ compensation claim. The central issue in a retaliation case is whether the protected activity was a reason for the termination, rather than whether the employee happened to have a claim at the time of termination.

What If My Employer Says I Was Fired for Misconduct?

An employer may defend a termination by asserting that the employee was fired for misconduct, poor performance, attendance, insubordination, a reduction in force, or another legitimate business reason. That explanation should be examined against the available evidence rather than accepted or rejected automatically.

Nevada workers’ compensation law also addresses situations in which an injured employee is discharged for misconduct. Under NRS 616C.232, an insurer may deny temporary total disability compensation based on a misconduct-related discharge only if it establishes that the employee was discharged solely for misconduct and not for a reason relating to the workers’ compensation claim, and that the misconduct-related discharge, rather than the injury, is the sole cause of the employee’s inability to return to the pre-injury employer.

This does not mean every misconduct termination is retaliation. Instead, it shows why the exact reason for the termination matters. An employee who believes the employer’s stated reason is a pretext should gather the documents and communications that existed before and after the workers’ compensation claim.

What Evidence Can Help Prove Retaliation?

Evidence in a potential retaliation case often comes from the employment record and the timeline surrounding the injury and claim. Performance evaluations showing satisfactory or strong performance before the injury can be relevant if serious performance problems are suddenly alleged after the claim. Emails or text messages in which supervisors criticize an employee for filing a claim or complain about the cost of an injury can also be significant.

Other useful evidence may include disciplinary records, attendance records, changes in work assignments, schedules, pay records, termination paperwork, employee handbooks, witness statements, and communications with human resources. Employees should also preserve the documents associated with the workers’ compensation claim itself.

The goal is not simply to show that a termination occurred after a claim. The evidence should help establish the relationship between the protected workers’ compensation activity and the employer’s decision. Nevada courts have recognized the retaliation claim because terminating an employee for exercising workers’ compensation rights violates an established public policy.

Can an Employer Reduce My Hours or Change My Job After a Claim?

A reduction in hours, reassignment, or other unfavorable employment change can raise concerns, but the legal analysis may differ from a straightforward retaliatory-discharge claim. Nevada Supreme Court precedent most clearly recognizes a tort claim when an employee is discharged because of a workers’ compensation claim. Other adverse actions should be evaluated based on the specific facts and any other applicable legal protections.

For that reason, employees should document significant changes rather than assuming that only termination matters. Keep copies of schedules before and after the claim, pay statements, written warnings, job assignments, and communications explaining why the changes were made. If a supervisor makes comments connecting the change to the workers’ compensation claim, preserve those communications and record the date, participants, and substance of the conversation.

What Are the Workers’ Compensation Filing Deadlines in Nevada?

Employees should distinguish between deadlines for filing the underlying workers’ compensation claim and deadlines for pursuing a retaliation or wrongful-discharge claim. These are separate legal issues.

Under NRS 616C.015, an employee generally must provide written notice of a work-related injury to the employer as soon as practicable and within seven days after the accident. Under NRS 616C.020, an injured employee who has received medical treatment for a work-related injury or has been unable to work because of the injury generally must file the workers’ compensation claim with the insurer within 90 days after the accident.

A retaliation or wrongful-discharge claim has a different deadline. Nevada law now provides that an action in tort for common-law wrongful termination of employment must generally be commenced within two years after the termination.

Because different claims can involve different deadlines, an injured worker should not assume that having time remaining on the workers’ compensation claim also means there is unlimited time to pursue an employment retaliation claim.

What Compensation May Be Available?

The potential remedies depend on the legal theory, evidence, and circumstances of the case. In Hansen, the Nevada Supreme Court recognized retaliatory discharge as a tort and held that punitive damages may be available where the employer’s conduct satisfies the applicable legal standard for punitive damages.

A potential case may therefore involve damages associated with the wrongful termination and, where legally available, other forms of relief. The precise damages depend on the facts, including the employee’s lost wages, employment circumstances, conduct of the employer, and evidence supporting the claim.

A workers’ compensation claim itself is also a separate matter. If the employer terminates an employee, that does not automatically eliminate the employee’s workers’ compensation rights. Nevada’s Workers’ Compensation Section provides information and procedures for injured workers, including claim appeals and assistance with workers’ compensation issues.

What Should I Do If I Believe I Was Fired in Retaliation?

Start by preserving evidence and creating a detailed chronology. Write down the date of the workplace injury, when you reported it, when medical treatment began, when the workers’ compensation claim was filed, when the employer learned about the claim, and every significant employment event that followed.

Do not alter or destroy records, and do not rely exclusively on verbal conversations. Keep copies of relevant communications and employment documents that you are legally permitted to retain. If you receive a termination letter or written explanation for the decision, preserve the original document.

You should also avoid assuming that an employer’s stated reason for termination settles the legal question. The circumstances surrounding the decision can matter. If the employer previously praised your performance and then quickly began issuing discipline after learning about your workers’ compensation claim, for example, that chronology may deserve legal review.

Why Should You Speak With an Attorney Quickly?

Workers’ compensation retaliation cases can involve two separate areas of law: the underlying industrial insurance claim and the employment consequences that followed the claim. An attorney can evaluate whether the facts support a wrongful-discharge claim, identify applicable deadlines, and distinguish a workers’ compensation dispute from an employment retaliation issue.

This is particularly important when the employee is still employed. A worker may be concerned about losing a job, being placed on leave, having hours reduced, or being pressured to abandon a claim. The appropriate legal strategy can depend heavily on whether the employment relationship continues and what actions the employer has already taken.

Nevada’s Department of Business and Industry provides resources for injured workers, including information about workers’ compensation claims, appeals, complaints, and available assistance.

About Milan Chatterjee

This article was prepared by Milan Chatterjee, a Nevada and California licensed attorney and founder of Best Employment Attorney, the dedicated employment law practice of Milan Legal.

Milan represents employees and employers throughout Las Vegas, Reno, and across Nevada in workplace disputes involving retaliation, whistleblower claims, discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, severance agreements, employment contracts, and related employment matters.

He earned his Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law and also studied at New York University School of Law as a visiting student. Before entering private practice, Milan served as Associate Compliance Counsel at Las Vegas Sands Corporation, where he advised on employment compliance, workplace investigations, corporate governance, internal policies, workforce restructurings, severance matters, and enterprise risk management.

Today, Milan combines that corporate legal experience with a focused employment law practice representing employees and employers throughout Nevada.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Filing a workers’ compensation claim after a workplace injury is an exercise of an important legal right. In Nevada, the Supreme Court has specifically recognized a public-policy claim when an employer terminates an employee in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. The law therefore does not permit an employer to use the threat of termination to prevent an injured employee from pursuing workers’ compensation rights.

At the same time, not every termination following a workers’ compensation claim is automatically unlawful. The reason given by the employer, the employee’s work history, the timing of events, statements by supervisors, and other evidence must be considered together. If you believe your employer fired or otherwise treated you differently because you filed a workers’ compensation claim, preserve your records and obtain legal advice promptly.