explaining the remedial nature of § 25-5-11.1 and holding that courts "must construe § 25-5-11.1 in a manner that effectuates the obvious legislative intent to protect an employee from a retaliatory discharge based solely on the employee's filing a workers' compensation claim"
How later courts described this case
- explaining the remedial nature of § 25-5-11.1 and holding that courts "must construe § 25-5-11.1 in a manner that effectuates the obvious legislative intent to protect an employee from a retaliatory discharge based solely on the employee's filing a workers' compensation claim"
- holding that there is no "willing and able" requirement
- applying judicial estoppel in a retaliatory-discharge case based on an earlier statement made in a case before DIR
- "[W]hen the law does not require an employer to create a job or to provide special accommodations, the employer cannot be penalized for failing to do so and, instead, discharging an employee who is not able to perform the duties of his job, so long as the discharge is not based on the employee's filing a workers' compensation claim." (emphasis added)
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
I concur, but with the qualification that the defense that the employee was discharged for unwillingness or inability to do the job will not be recognized unless, at the time of discharge, either (1) the employee was able but was unwilling to do the job or (2) the employee had reached maximum medical improvement. For example, the employer will not be allowed to contend that its reason for discharging the employee was that he was recuperating in the hospital from his on-the-job injury and thus was unable or unwilling to do the job.