Our county (Navarro) has an employee who was injured in a jail incident over 1 year ago. He is still employed by the county but lives in Louisiana. He initially went to a doctor but has since failed to follow recommendations made by his doctor nor made any attempts to come back to work or contact the county. What should the county's course of action be when faced with Section 52e of the Texas Constitution?

Article 3, section 52e of the constitution does not override the sheriff's ability to terminate an employee at will. Samaniego v. Arguelles, 737 S.W.2d 88 (Tex. App.--El Paso 1988, no writ). Make sure you've got your bases covered from an ADA and a workers comp. retaliation standpoint, then fire away.