Did Employer Manufacture Mobile Home Manager’s Flaws so it Could Fire Her?

A number of factors can raise or quell suspicions that an employer terminated an employee in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. A case involving a property manager highlights some of the actions that employers should try to avoid.

The claimant in that case managed one of her employer’s mobile home communities. The employer had a progressive discipline system; before terminating an employee, it would give the employee a verbal warning, a written warning, and, sometimes, a final written warning

The claimant injured her ankle on July 15. By July 23, she could no longer put pressure on it and filed a workers’ compensation claim. Her supervisor told her own boss, the district manager, about the injury. The district manager immediately told the supervisor to get the claimant to sign a disciplinary warning. 

The supervisor had the claimant sign a written warning (allegedly the only warning the claimant received) documenting several ways in which the claimant’s performance came up short. These included not keeping her work area clean and not informing her supervisor about important issues in her community. 

As to the uncleanliness, the claimant later explained that there were a lot of files on her desk because she was working on them and there wasn’t much storage space. Also, the floor was dirty, but that was maintenance's responsibility. Concerning her purported lack of communication, she didn’t know what issues the document was referring to.

When the claimant went back to work on July 29, her supervisor told her she was being terminated. 

The supervisor later testified that:

• She called the district manager on July 11, prior to the claimant getting injured, because she was dissatisfied with the claimant’s performance.
• The claimant was fired for the reasons stated in the written warning as well as for being rude to clients. When asked what type of rudeness was involved, she pointed to instances in which the claimant would have clients put checks in a collection box instead of taking the checks from the residents directly. 

The claimant sued her employer for retaliation. The employer asked the court to rule in its favor because there wasn’t enough of a dispute to go to trial.

To establish a worker’s compensation retaliation claim, an employee must show:

1. She was injured on the job;
2. She filed a worker’s compensation claim; and 
3. The filing of the claim was a significant factor in the employer's decision to discharge or otherwise discriminate against the employee.

Did claimant establish a sufficient retaliation claim?

A. No. The company had valid, documented reasons for firing her and there was nothing suspicious about its actions.

B. Yes. The supervisor’s testimony and the manner and timing of the employer’s disciplinary actions raised suspicions about its motivations for firing her.

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Stephens v. Management FC, LLC, No.  3:24-0698 (S.D. W.Va. 10/27/25), which found that the claimant’s case was strong enough to proceed to trial.

Specifically, there were three key pieces of evidence that the employee’s claim played a significant role in her termination.

First, the manager told the supervisor to have the claimant sign a written warning right after he learned the claimant was planning to file for workers’ compensation.

Second, the employer gave the claimant one warning before terminating her, whereas its discipline policy stated that an employee would receive two or three warnings.

Third, the employer’s stated reasons for terminating her didn’t hold water. 

“Even if most of the reasons given for the written warning and termination hold up under scrutiny, a reasonable juror could [conclude] that the inclusion of more dubious justifications in the written warning and Defendant's responses to [the claimant's] interrogatories suggest that [the claimant's] termination was pretextual,” the court wrote.

The court declined to rule in the employer's favor, freeing up the claimant to take the case to trial.

Looking for the full text of the case? Look to Simply Research

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