SEPTEMBER 2025 | 9 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Torts Beyond the Injury: Identifying Employment Cases in Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation Law By Patricia A. Podolec EMPLOYMENT LAW ENCOMPASSES THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK governing the relationship 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 representing an individual, a foundational knowledge of employment law can help you identify 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 discharged, 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). To begin, one overriding issue for clients with potential wrongful termination cases is that employees 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 morally wrong reason.2 An employer cannot, however, fire an employee for an illegal reason. There are exceptions to employment-at-will. Oklahoma recognizes a wrongful termination action as a violation of an Oklahoma public policy. An employer cannot terminate an employee for a reason that is against “a clear mandate of public policy articulated by constitutional, 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 policy 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 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.
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