Many employees like to complain about their work environment. In large part, Alabama law provides no protections to employees who complain about work conditions, because Alabama is an employment-at-will state. This means that, in the absence of an employment contract, employees can generally be fired for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all.
Nevertheless, Alabama provides at least three statutes which limit the ability of employers to terminate employees who make reports about work conditions:
- Alabama Code Section 25-5-11.1 prevents employers from terminating employees who file written notices of safety violations.
- Alabama Code Section 25-8-57 protects employees who oppose or report violations of Alabama’s Child Labor Laws.
- Alabama Code Section 36-26A-3 prohibits adverse actions against a limited set of governmental employees who report wrongdoing by their supervisors.
While Alabama law provides very little protection for employees, there are numerous federal laws that do protect employees. Therefore, you should consult your attorney before disciplining an employee who complains about their work environment.