In Nova Scotia, workers on long term disability have certain rights. An employer’s right to terminate such a worker hinges on the situation at the worker’s place of employment.

What is the disabled worker’s status?

During the first 2 years that such an employee stays at home, he or she cannot return to the previous job for that same time period (2 years). After those 2 years, he or she cannot handle any type of employment. Workers in that status must apply to the Canada Pension Disability program, as well as to an employer’s insurance, or to a private insurance. Workers that apply for the Canada Pension Plan program must be unlikely to return to work at any time.

Actions encouraged by the worker’s status

Once an employer learns that an employee is not likely to return to work, the same employer has little reason to keep him or her on the payroll. In other words, the employer feels compelled to terminate the disabled employee.

Still, employers are not allowed to terminate disabled employees until they receive a specific document. That is a document that must come from the employee’s doctor. The doctor’s document must give the doctor’s confirmation of the fact that the patient/employee cannot return to work.

What happens if an employer terminates a disabled worker, before receiving such a document?

In that case, the terminated employee would stop receiving disability payments. In response to the absence of such payments, the terminated worker could take legal action. If the employer could not produce proof of having received the document from the doctor, the one with the patient’s/employee’s prognosis, then the court could force the employer to restore the employee’s disability payments.

In fact, the court could demand more that restoration of the regular payment schedule. It could also call for reimbursement of all the money from the payments that were not made, after the illegal termination. Now, it is possible that the condition of the disabled worker declined, following the termination, along with the cut-off of payments. If that were the case, the employer would be expected to pay more money to the wrongfully-terminated employee. As compensation for the employee’s treatment, the employer would need to cover the costs of that treatment.

The legal system has established all those regulations, in anticipation of some employers’ desire to stop paying for delivery of the non-working employee’s disability funds. The legal system created a heavy fine for the performance of such an action. The Personal Injury Lawyer in Fredericton knows what happens when those that violate the law get hit with just a small fine. In that case, the violator feels inclined to pay the small fine and then repeat the activity.