Legal Question in Workers Comp in Maryland

Re: Wrongful Termination

Your inquiry was listed under "worker's compensation" so I'm assuming you were hurt on the job and are out for that reason. The answer to your question is that under MD law the employer may not discharge an injured employee because he files a worker's comp claim, but an employer is not prohibited from replacing an employee who's unable to work if the employer must do so out of economic necessity. Generally, a large employer will allow an employee to remain in a leave of absence status as long as his doctor keeps him out of work. Smaller employers are the ones who generally tend to replace employees because they need to keep the operation going and can't do so with remaining staff. There's also a federal law that allows you a certain amount of time to recover from illness and keep your job, but smaller employers are exempted.