How will filing a Worker's Comp claim affect my EEOC discrimination claim?

Mr. Pedersen is correct! To expand on his good answer: WORKERS' COMP: Workers' compensation benefits include all or some of the following, as appropriate to the injury: medical treatment to relieve and cure the injury; partial wage replacement while healing from the injury (temporary disability benefits, or TD); money to compensate the injured worker for a diminished ability to work in the future (permanent disability benefits, or PD); job rehabilitation services; and sometimes penalties against the employer. Attorney's fees consist of a small percentage of any permanent disability benefit amount. So if you have an on-the-job injury or a medical condition that is made worse by work, California’s workers' compensation laws may provide some relief. To find a workers' compensation attorney, please look at the membership list of the California Applicant Attorneys Association (CAAA) http://caaa.org/cs/. CAAA is the strongest bar association in California for attorneys who represent injured workers. DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION/REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: Discrimination on the basis of disability or for failure provide reasonable accommodation for the disability may include money to replace wages that you would have been able to earn if the employer had not violated the disability laws; money to compensate the employee for emotional distress; attorney's fees; costs of suit; and more. So if you have a disability as defined by law, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. sections 12101 et seq. (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, California Government Code sections 12900, et seq. (FEHA) may provide some protection. Please look at my guide on the ADA: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/employment-disability-protection-under-californias-fair-employment-and-housing-act-and-federal-ada and also on the differences between the ADA and California’s more generous FEHA: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/employment-disability-protection-under-californias-fair-employment-and-housing-act-and-federal-ada?published=true. The ADA applies to employers with at least 15 employees; the FEHA requires only 5 employees. These laws protect you from discrimination (adverse treatment) DUE TO disability and also require the employer to provide reasonable accommodation (change in the manner in which work is done) so you can do the main parts of the job (essential functions). A leave of absence can be a proper reasonable accommodation. FAMILY LEAVE: You may also have rights under family leave laws. There is limited protection if the illness or injury is caused by a serious medical condition as that is defined by law. You may be protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. section 2101 et seq. (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act, Government Code section 12945.2 (CFRA) if all of the following is true: (a) your employer has at least 50 employees who work within 75 miles of one another; and (b) you have worked for this employer for at least one year all together, even if not consecutively; (c) you have worked for this employer at least 1,250 hours in the immediately preceding year; and (d) you have a serious medical condition as defined by the FMLA. The FMLA allows employees to take leaves of absence from work without repercussion, up to a maximum of 12 weeks per year. Leave can be in increments as short as fractions of an hour. Please look at my guide on the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. section 2101 et seq. (FMLA) to see if that law applies in your situation: http://www.attorneyqna.com/pages/show?category_id=6&permalink=family-and-medical-leave-fmla-summary-of-key-provisions. California’s CFRA is the same as the FMLA in all areas other than pregnancy disability and enforcement. Your rights under all three laws are separate. That means you may be entitled to benefits under all three laws at the same time. (continued in Comment below)

Two different claims that you need separate attorneys to handle. Hire the attorneys ASAP. Good luck.

To follow up on the previous answers make sure that if you sign any release papers with regard to settling your workers comp case, that release doesn't include "any and all claims" as that will also release your discrimination or wrongful termination claim. Of course if you have "global" settlement, which is not uncommon in situations where you have both such claims, then entering into that kind of total release and settlement would be appropriate. Thanks, Arkady Itkin