Austin Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Attorney

If you were fired, demoted, or punished after filing a workers’ compensation claim in Austin, you may have a workers’ compensation retaliation claim under Texas Labor Code § 451.001. Texas law prohibits any employer from retaliating against an employee for filing — or even intending to file — a workers’ compensation claim. Employment attorney Jack Nichols has represented Travis County and Central Texas employees for 28 years. Austin’s growing economy means workers in construction, technology, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and many other private-sector fields face workers’ comp retaliation every year. Call (512) 595-1269 for a free confidential consultation.

About the Attorney: Jack Quentin Nichols is licensed by the State Bar of Texas (admitted 1997) and has represented Texas employees exclusively for 28 years. Former attorney at the Texas Attorney General’s Office/Texas Workforce Commission. Learn more about Jack Nichols →

Texas Law Protects Austin Workers from Retaliation After a Job Injury

Texas Labor Code § 451.001 makes it unlawful for any Texas employer to discharge, discriminate against, or otherwise retaliate against an employee because that employee filed a workers’ compensation claim, hired a lawyer to represent them in a claim, or participated in a workers’ compensation proceeding. Texas courts have extended this protection to employees who are fired simply for intending to file — reporting a workplace injury to your employer is sufficient protected activity even before any formal claim is filed. This protection applies to workers at private employers throughout Austin and the surrounding Central Texas region.

Austin Industries Where Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Occurs

Workers’ compensation retaliation in Austin and Central Texas occurs across many private-sector industries:

• Construction and skilled trades: Austin’s building boom has made construction one of the highest-injury industries in Travis County. Workers injured on residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects are sometimes fired days or weeks after reporting injuries — before they can formally file a workers’ comp claim
• Technology and software: Office and lab workers at Austin tech companies suffer repetitive stress injuries, slip-and-fall accidents, and equipment-related injuries. Some are terminated after reporting injuries, with employers citing performance justifications that appear only after the injury report
• Healthcare and medical services: Nurses, nursing assistants, medical technicians, and support staff at private Austin healthcare facilities are injured during patient handling, slips, and other workplace accidents — and sometimes face retaliation after filing or intending to file claims
• Hospitality and food service: Restaurant, hotel, and food service workers throughout Austin suffer burns, falls, and lifting injuries and are sometimes let go after reporting them
• Retail and warehouse: Distribution center, retail, and warehouse workers face back injuries, fall injuries, and repetitive motion injuries — and some are terminated after reporting them to management
• Manufacturing and light industrial: Workers at Austin-area manufacturing facilities suffer equipment-related injuries and are sometimes dismissed after seeking workers’ compensation benefits
• Transportation and delivery: Drivers and delivery workers injured in vehicle accidents throughout the Austin metro sometimes face termination after filing or mentioning a workers’ comp claim
• Landscaping and outdoor services: Landscaping, tree service, and outdoor maintenance workers throughout Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties face high injury rates and sometimes face retaliation after reporting them

What Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Looks Like in Austin

Austin employers use many tactics to retaliate against injured workers:

• Termination within days or weeks of reporting an on-the-job injury or filing a claim
• Demotion, pay reduction, or transfer to a less desirable position following the injury report
• Suddenly being excluded from work schedules, project assignments, or shifts
• Receiving a negative performance review for the first time only after reporting an injury
• Being placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP) shortly after the injury report as a pretext for eventual termination
• Being accused of violating a safety rule or policy only after reporting an injury
• Subtle hostility, reduced hours, or being passed over for overtime in retaliation for filing

Proving Workers’ Compensation Retaliation — What Evidence Matters

To succeed on a Texas Labor Code § 451.001 claim, you must prove that your protected activity caused the adverse employment action. Key evidence includes:

• Timing: The shorter the gap between your injury report and termination, the stronger the inference of retaliation
• Knowledge: Your supervisor or decision-maker must have known about the injury or claim before the termination decision was made
• Pretext: Evidence that the employer’s stated reason is false — positive performance reviews that contradict a claimed poor performance, or coworkers who did the same thing and were not fired
• Statements: Any supervisor comments about workers’ compensation costs, the claim, or your injury

Preserve all text messages, emails, performance reviews, and documentation of the injury report. Contact an Austin workers’ compensation retaliation attorney as soon as possible — evidence disappears quickly.

Filing Deadlines for Austin Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Claims

A workers’ compensation retaliation claim under Texas Labor Code § 451.001 must be filed within two years of the retaliatory act. This is a firm deadline — missing it may permanently bar your claim. Do not wait to consult an attorney. If your employer also violated the ADA or FMLA, additional federal deadlines of 180 or 300 days may apply to those separate claims.

What Damages Can an Austin Employee Recover?

Under Texas Labor Code § 451.002, a successful claimant may recover:

• Reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position
• Back pay — lost wages from the date of the retaliatory action
• Reasonable attorney’s fees

Depending on the specific circumstances, additional claims may also be available. Attorney Jack Nichols can evaluate all potential claims during a free confidential consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions — Austin Workers’ Compensation Retaliation

I hurt my back at my Austin construction job, told my foreman, and was fired four days later. Do I have a claim?

Yes — four days between an injury report and termination is very close temporal proximity and is strong circumstantial evidence of workers’ compensation retaliation under Texas Labor Code § 451.001. You are protected even if you had not yet formally filed a claim — telling your foreman about the injury is sufficient protected activity. The two-year deadline runs from your termination date. Contact an attorney immediately to preserve your rights and evidence.

I work at an Austin restaurant and was injured in the kitchen. My manager said my job was safe, but I was put on a PIP two weeks after I mentioned workers’ comp and then fired a month later. What can I do?

A performance improvement plan that appears shortly after an injury report — with no prior performance issues — is a well-recognized form of pretextual retaliation. The combination of reassurance, a sudden PIP, and eventual termination creates a strong pattern. Gather any positive feedback or prior performance records, document the timeline precisely, and contact an Austin workers’ compensation retaliation attorney before the two-year deadline expires.

My Austin employer said I was let go in a reduction in force, but I was the only one terminated and it came two weeks after I filed a workers’ comp claim. Is that retaliation?

A targeted “reduction in force” affecting only the injured employee shortly after a workers’ comp filing is a classic pretext. Key questions are whether your position was subsequently filled, whether similarly situated coworkers were retained, and what the employer’s documentation of the decision looks like. Contact an attorney right away to investigate and preserve your claim.

Why Choose The Law Office of Jack Quentin Nichols, PLLC, as Your Austin Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Attorney

• 28 years experience
• Former attorney at the Texas Attorney General’s Office / Texas Workforce Commission
• Licensed in the Western District of Texas (Austin Division)
• Member: State Bar of Texas Labor & Employment Section; Texas Employment Lawyers Association (TELA)
• Contingency fee basis — no fee unless we win
• Serving injured workers in Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Kyle, Buda, San Marcos, Bastrop, Taylor, Leander, and all of Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties

The Law Office of Jack Quentin Nichols, PLLC

Texas Discrimination Attorney | Texas Employment, Retaliation & Sexual Harassment Attorney | 28 Years of Experience

Licensed by the State Bar of Texas since 1997  |  Former Texas Attorney General’s Office representing the Texas Workforce Commission  |

Member: State Bar of Texas — Labor & Employment Section  |  Texas Employment Lawyers Association (TELA)

Admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and the

United States District Courts for the Western, Southern, Northern, and Eastern Districts of Texas.

Representing employees in Austin, Houston, San Antonio & all of Texas.

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(512) 595-1269