Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A.

Several bills have been introduced in the Mississippi Legislature that could impact Mississippi employers.  Every year -- and this year is no exception -- a bill is introduced to provide for a cause of action for retaliatory discharge if an employer is found to have terminated an employee in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim.  Employers will want to monitor House Bills 49 and 830 that would allow for this cause of action.    

House Bill 110 would reduce the amount an employer would be allowed to recover from a third party that is found to be partly to blame for an employee's injury.  If an employee is injured on the job and the employer pays workers compensation benefits, an employer is allowed to intervene in any lawsuit the employee may file against a third party.  If the employee recovers from the third party, an employer would be entitled to reimbursement of the benefits and medical expenses it paid under the workers' compensation act less collection costs.  House Bill 110 provides that the amount an employer can recover should also be reduced in direct proportion to the employer's degree of fault in causing the employee's injury.

House Bill 621 provides that a former employee will not be disqualified for unemployment benefits if he/she voluntarily quits employment if the reason for doing so is because of a military-connected spouse's permanent change of station orders, activation orders, or unit deployment orders.