By Dan Davis, July 29, 2026
Getting hurt at work is stressful enough. On top of the pain, loss of income, and medical appointments, many injured workers in Louisiana quietly worry about something else: “If I report this and file a claim, can my boss just fire me?” It is a fair question, and Louisiana law has a specific answer. While the state gives employers a lot of freedom to hire and fire, it draws the line when it comes to punishing someone for using the workers’ compensation system.
Yes. Louisiana follows the “at-will” rule, which generally means an employer can let an employee go for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all — and an employee is likewise free to quit at any time. But at-will employment is not unlimited. State and federal laws carve out exceptions, and one of the clearest is the protection for workers who file for workers’ compensation benefits.
Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1361 makes it unlawful for an employer to fire an employee because that employee has asserted a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. In short, your employer cannot legally punish you with termination simply because you were hurt on the job and pursued the benefits the law entitles you to. The protection is broad enough that it also covers claims asserted under another state’s law or under federal law, not just Louisiana’s.
It is important to understand what the statute does and does not do. It does not guarantee your job forever, and it does not stop an employer from terminating you for a legitimate, unrelated reason — for example, a genuine layoff or documented misconduct. What it forbids is making your comp claim the reason you were let go.
The statute has teeth. An employee who is fired in violation of the law can recover a civil penalty equal to the wages they would have earned but for the discrimination, measured by their earnings at the time of discharge, up to a maximum of one year’s earnings. On top of that, the law allows you to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs. That means a worker can pursue this kind of claim without having to pay a lawyer out of pocket up front.
The same statute also protects job applicants. An employer is not allowed to refuse to hire you because you previously asserted a workers’ compensation claim. If you were turned down for a position and there are signs the real reason was a past comp claim, that can fall within the same protection — with the penalty measured against the starting salary of the job you were seeking.
These cases usually turn on timing and evidence. Being fired shortly after reporting an injury or filing a claim, a sudden change in how you are treated, shifting explanations for the termination, or comments tying your firing to the claim can all be relevant. Because employers rarely admit the real reason, the facts around the firing — dates, documents, and what was said — often carry the case.
Timing matters for another practical reason: there is a deadline. A retaliation claim under this statute is generally subject to a one-year prescriptive period, which is Louisiana’s version of a statute of limitations. If you wait too long, you can lose the right to bring the claim entirely, so it is worth getting advice sooner rather than later.
Keep everything. Save your accident report, claim paperwork, pay records, text messages or emails, and any write-ups, and jot down what was said and when. Do not assume that because Louisiana is “at-will” you have no options — the whole point of this statute is that being fired for using the comp system is different. An attorney can look at the timeline, help separate a lawful termination from an unlawful one, and tell you honestly whether you have a claim worth pursuing.
If you were fired, demoted, or turned down for a job after reporting a work injury or filing a workers’ compensation claim in Louisiana, the attorneys at Estes Davis Law can review what happened. Call us at (225) 336-3394 for a free, confidential consultation. Se habla español.
This article is general information about Louisiana law and is not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case depends on its own facts. For advice about your situation, please consult an attorney.
About the Author