What does a wrongful termination lawyer do?

What does a wrongful termination lawyer do? In Texas, an employee without a specific contract term is considered an "at-will" employee, one that can be fired for a good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. There are some exceptions to this-- an employer cannot fire an employee based on a protected class (including such things as race, sex, national origin, or disability).

Those issues are covered under discrimination laws. But an employee who has a workers' compensation claim filed in good faith has a special protection compared with other employees. Such an injured employee cannot be terminated in retaliation for pursuing a workers' compensation claim. The Labor Code provides:

Sec. 451.001. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES PROHIBITED. A person may not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against an employee because the employee has:
(1) filed a workers' compensation claim in good faith;
(2) hired a lawyer to represent the employee in a claim;
(3) instituted or caused to be instituted in good faith a proceeding under Subtitle A; or
(4) testified or is about to testify in a proceeding under Subtitle A.

What this means is an employee who is injured on the job cannot be fired due to filing or pursuing a workers' compensation claim. Many employers consider injured employees to be damaged goods and a liability. They may try to fire you after you get hurt in order to prevent you from getting benefits or increasing their costs. They may threaten to fire an employee to prevent the claim from being filed. This is illegal and an employee can sue over such wrongful conduct. The employee would be entitled to damages and even to get re-hired:

Sec. 451.002. REMEDIES; BURDEN OF PROOF. (a) A person who violates Section 451.001 is liable for reasonable damages incurred by the employee as a result of the violation.
(b) An employee discharged in violation of Section 451.001 is entitled to reinstatement in the former position of employment.
(c) The burden of proof in a proceeding under this section is on the employee.