What is a Right to Work state?
- What does Right-To-Work mean?
- How does this affect my claim?
- Are there ways I can protect myself?
- Do Unions help?
- Can I be fired for making a Work Compensation Claim?
- Is North Carolina a Right to Work State?
Right to Work really refers to whether an Employer has the Right to Fire. It can get a bit complicated when it comes to Work Comp cases in North Carolina – Kevin Jones
Is there really such a thing as a “Right to Work?” What is a Right To Work State? Is North Carolina a Right to Work state?
Normally when people talk about a “Right to Work,” they’re referring to membership in some sort of Union.
North Carolina laws protect employees and set up a method of compensation when you’re hurt on the job.
Membership in a Union may provide additional benefits, through some sort of agreement between the company and members of the union.
There aren’t a lot of unions in North Carolina.
LEARN MORE: What is light duty at work
As a result, employees are often concerned they may be fired for making a Workers’ Compensation claim.
At Doge Jones Injury Firm, we understand that is an important consideration.
That’s why we will want to sit down with you, talk about your legal rights and your options.
We offer FREE consultations on Workmans Compensation cases.
If, after hearing your legal options, you decide not to make a claim, that’s OK.
The important thing to do is get information.
We believe good decisions are made after getting all the facts.
That’s what lawyers do. They help people. T
We give guidance, we explain the legal system, and we’ll help you decide what’s best for you.
LEARN MORE: Hurt on the Job? What Should You Do?
We’re not here to pressure you. We provide sound legal advice, based on experience, compassion and years of helping people – Kevin Jones
If you’re looking for a Greenville NC Workers Compensation lawyer, or legal help in New Bern, Jacksonville, Morehead City, or Beaufort, give Kevin Jones a call.
Modified Transcript of “What Is A Right To Work State?” for the Hearing Impaired
You hear a lot the term right-to-work state, and really what that means, and I tell people this a lot, it really means a right to fire.
When they talk about right-to-work, it has to do with having the right-to-work without joining a union. What that does is, that means that it’s very easy for employers to avoid their employees unionizing as easily because there can’t be a … what they call it.
It’s not a closed shop. In other words, in other states there may be certain industries where you can’t get a job in that industry unless you’re in the union. In North Carolina, that’s not the case.
You don’t have to join the union, you don’t have to pay the dues, and you can get the same job as the person who’s joined the union. So, oftentimes, if not most of the time, that prevents the union from being able to take hold and get any membership.
What that means from a practical perspective is if you’re in a union, some unions have additional rights to hang on to their jobs when they’ve been injured on the job in a worker’s comp claim.
They have rights to hearings, they have rights to put on evidence to be able to object to and dispute a termination.
Whereas, if it’s a non-union person who gets fired, they don’t have those rights. They’re fired. If they want to be able to prove that it was a wrongful termination, they’ve got to find an employment lawyer, go to court, and win the case.
Very difficult to do in North Carolina, and most of the time it’s not something that’s successful or even pursued because of the difficulty.
A right-to-work state means mostly non-union.
We do have some unions that I deal with in North Carolina, but for the most part it’s really what we’re talking about is at-will employment, no right to keep your job.
So it makes things tough on the injured worker because they don’t have any rights to keep their job if they’re making the worker’s comp claim and their concern is, “I don’t want to do this because they’re going to fire me if I pursue this comp claim,” and people will just let it go.
They will lose benefits they’re entitled to, and they won’t make a claim because they’re so worried about losing their job.
It does make it tougher in North Carolina than in other states that have a big union presence, but it doesn’t mean that that you don’t have rights.
You do have the right to make the claim, obviously, and it’s supposed to be free of any retaliation from the employer, and there are laws that say that that retaliatory behavior is subject to damages, but again, it’s something that you’ve got to prove.
If you’re not under a contract for a term, if you’re not a tenured teacher, for example, if you’re not in a union with union rights, if you’re fired, you’re fired, and then it’s a matter of trying to prove why at a later date in a later setting.
For this question, or any other question you may have about your worker’s comp claim, give me a call.
I’m happy to sit down and talk with you about your case and to see what I can do to help.
Call for Free Consultation 1-877-NC-COMP-1