Did Fired Chef with Knee Injury have Basic Ingredients for Retaliation Case?

What Do You Think?

Employees who are fired because they are taking workers’ compensation leave can sue their employers for retaliation. As one case shows, an employer’s comments prior to the termination, when combined with the timing of the firing, can sway a judge one way or the other.

The chef in that case started working for the restaurant in 2016 and performed well initially. But by 2018, according to the employer, his performance declined. Among other issues, the employer said, he refused to make changes to the menu or run frequent specials. In February 2022, another employee accused him of harassment. The restaurant owner said he had already been planning to fire the chef, but that was the last straw.

The chef injured his knee at work on May 8. He said when he told the owner that he was planning to take worker compensation's leave, the owner responded, "Maybe I'll fire you when you're Workers' Comp." In July, the chef gave the owner a doctor’s note excusing him for six weeks. He started leave on August 3. The owner fired him on August 30, handing him a termination letter that referenced their "differing visions for" the restaurant and the chef's "management of the kitchen."

The chef sued for retaliation under the ADA and the New York State Human Rights Law. Prior to trial, the restaurant asked the court to rule in its favor, claiming the chef didn’t have a solid case.

A fired employee seeking to establish retaliation under the ADA or NYSHRL must show, among other things, that he was fired because he engaged in protected activity. To show that causal connection, it is sufficient for him to establish that the employer was motivated in part by the protected activity.

Could the chef take his retaliation case to trial?

A. Yes. He was fired only a few weeks after starting his worker’s compensation leave.

B. No. The fact that the employer was unhappy with his performance in February suggested that factors other than the leave motivated the firing.

If you selected A, you agreed with the court in Paige v. Garvan’s Rock and Rye, L.L.C., No. 24cv3189 (DLC) (S.D.N.Y. 11/14/25), which found that the chef had a solid basic claim for retaliation.

The court pointed out that the chef was fired a few weeks after he started his leave. At this early stage of the case, that in itself was enough to establish that his protected activity of taking leave was one ingredient in the employer’s motivation.

“A reasonable jury could conclude that [the owner’s] final decision to terminate [the chef’s] employment was cemented by the disclosure of chef’s]  injury,” the court said.

The employer argued that closeness in time between an employee’s protected activity and a termination isn’t enough to show causation. That was not the only evidence, however. The chef also pointed to the owner’s alleged remark, "maybe I'll fire you when you're Workers' Comp.” A jury could view that as evidence of a discriminatory motive.

The court declined to rule for the employer, thus allowing the case to go to trial.

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