By William Powell of Powell & Denny | Published September 1, 2026 | Posted in Workers Compensation | Tagged Tags: Can My Employer Fire Me for Refusing Light-Duty Work After an Alabama Workers' Compensation Injury?, free consultation, NO FEE UNLESS YOU WIN, We Work When You Can't |
Can My Employer Fire Me for Refusing Light-Duty Work After an Alabama Workers’ Compensation Injury?
Can My Employer Fire Me for Refusing Light-Duty Work After an Alabama Workers’ Compensation Injury? After a workplace injury, an employee may receive restrictions from the authorized treating physician that prevent a return to the regular job. The employer may then say “We have light-duty work available. Come back to work.” What happens if the Read More
Read MoreCan My Employer Fire Me Because I Cannot Return to My Old Job After a Workers’ Compensation Injury?
Can My Employer Fire Me Because I Cannot Return to My Old Job After a Workers’ Compensation Injury? A serious workplace injury can leave an employee unable to return to the job he or she performed before the accident, and that raises an important question: Can an Alabama employer fire an injured worker simply because Read More
Read MoreCan You Be Permanently and Totally Disabled and Still Win an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Case?
Can You Be Permanently and Totally Disabled and Still Win an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Case? At first glance, these two positions may seem contradictory: “I am permanently and totally disabled because of my job injury.” And “My employer wrongfully fired me because I pursued workers’ compensation benefits.” An employer defending an Alabama retaliatory discharge claim Read More
Read MoreDo I Have to Be Able to Return to Work to Bring an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Claim?
Do I Have to Be Able to Return to Work to Bring an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Claim? One of the more confusing issues in an Alabama retaliatory discharge case arises when an injured employee who has not been medically released to return to his or her regular job is fired. The Employer may argue: “We Read More
Read MoreCan My Employer Fire Me for Attendance Problems After a Workers Compensation Injury in Alabama?
Can My Employer Fire Me for Attendance Problems After a Workers Compensation Injury in Alabama? An Alabama worker suffers an on-the-job injury. Their authorized treating physician takes the employee off work. Later, the employee returns with restrictions. There are follow-up appointments, physical therapy visits, perhaps surgery, and additional missed time. Then the employer says “You Read More
Read MoreHow Important Is Timing in an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Claim?
How Important Is Timing in an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Claim? An Alabama employee suffers a workplace injury. The employer learns about the injury and workers’ compensation claim. Two weeks later, the employee is fired. Is the timing enough to prove retaliatory discharge? Not necessarily. But it may be important evidence. In Alabama retaliatory discharge cases, Read More
Read MoreWhat Is Pretext in an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Case?
What Is Pretext in an Alabama Retaliatory Discharge Case? An injured Alabama worker files a workers’ compensation claim and is later fired. The employer says: “We did not fire her because she filed workers’ compensation. We fired her for attendance.” Does that end the retaliatory discharge claim? No. The employer may have a perfectly legitimate reason Read More
Read MoreThe Aldridge Factors: How Alabama Workers Prove Retaliatory Discharge Without a “Smoking Gun”
The Aldridge Factors: How Alabama Workers Prove Retaliatory Discharge Without a “Smoking Gun” An employer who fires an employee because of a workers’ compensation claim is unlikely to put the real reason in writing. There usually is no email saying: “Fire him because he filed workers’ compensation.” There may be no witness who heard management Read More
Read MoreWhat Does “Solely” Really Mean Under Alabama’s Retaliatory Discharge Law?
What Does “Solely” Really Mean Under Alabama’s Retaliatory Discharge Law? If you read Alabama’s retaliatory discharge statute without knowing the cases interpreting it, one word may make a successful claim seem almost impossible: “Solely.” Under Ala. Code § 25-5-11.1, an employer may not terminate an employee “solely because” the employee has instituted or maintained an Read More
Read MoreWhy Does Alabama Law Protect Injured Workers From Retaliatory Discharge?
Why Does Alabama Law Protect Injured Workers From Retaliatory Discharge? An Alabama employer generally has broad authority to terminate an at-will employee. But there is an important exception: an employer cannot fire an employee solely because the employee sought workers’ compensation benefits. That protection is found in Ala. Code § 25-5-11.1, Alabama’s retaliatory discharge statute. Read More
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