The Oklahoma Bar Journal September 2025

T orts

Beyond the Injury: Identifying Employment Cases in Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation Law By Patricia A. Podolec E MPLOYMENT LAW ENCOMPASSES THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK governing the rela tionship between employers and employees. It covers a wide range of issues, including hiring, workplace conditions, compensation and termination. For non-employment law attorneys, understanding the basics of employment law is crucial, as these issues often intersect with other areas of legal practice. Whether advising a business client or rep resenting an individual, a foundational knowledge of employment law can help you iden tify potential legal issues and guide clients effectively. This article is not intended to be a comprehensive primer on employment law but rather an overview of potential employment cases that non-employment lawyers may encounter. If you have an employee who was dis charged, please reach out to an employment lawyer. The Oklahoma Employment Lawyers Association has a list of attorneys who practice plaintiff’s employment law (www.oela.org), as does the National Employment Lawyers Association (www.nela.org).

There are exceptions to employ ment-at-will. Oklahoma recognizes a wrongful termination action as a violation of an Oklahoma public policy. An employer cannot ter minate an employee for a reason that is against “a clear mandate of public policy articulated by con stitutional, statutory, or decisional law.” 3 This is commonly referred to as a Burk tort. 4 This means that general bullying, termination or other adverse treatment not based

on a protected characteristic or a violation of Oklahoma public pol icy is not unlawful, and no cause of action against the employer is available. 5 Put simply, an employer cannot fire an employee for an illegal reason, such as a violation of employment laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Oklahoma Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act. In short, many attorneys who practice in the areas of personal

To begin, one overriding issue for clients with potential wrongful termination cases is that employ ees in Oklahoma, just as most employees in the United States, are employed at will. 1 This means that an employer can fire an employee for a good reason, a bad reason, no reason and, as the Oklahoma Supreme Court states, even a mor ally wrong reason. 2 An employer cannot, however, fire an employee for an illegal reason.

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

SEPTEMBER 2025 | 9

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL