Bill Would Make Comp Retaliation a Presumed Violation

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 | 0

Massachusetts employers that fire or discriminate against a worker within 90 days of his filing a workers’ compensation claim would be presumed to be in violation of the state’s anti-retaliation law, under recently introduced legislation.

HB 4606, introduced Monday by the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, would state that no “person or entity, itself or through its agent, may discharge, refuse to hire, or in any other manner discriminate or take adverse action, or to threaten to discharge, refuse to hire, or in any other manner discriminate or take adverse action, against any person because that person exercised (an employment) right afforded (by state law) including reporting or seeking care for a work-related injury or illness.”

The bill states it “shall be a rebuttable presumption of (this) violation” if action against a worker is taken within 90 days of the worker filing a claim, assisting another worker in filing a claim or testifying on behalf of an injured worker.

Under the bill, an adverse action would include “action to deprive an employee of any right afforded by this chapter, including through false denial of an employment relationship or false denial that an injury or illness was work-related.”

The presumption may be rebutted “by clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose and that the action would have been taken in the absence of” the comp claim or participation in an injured worker’s proceedings.

The bill calls for an aggrieved worker to file a complaint with the attorney general, who may initiate criminal or civil proceedings.

The bill was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.

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