Can my husband’s boss fire him if he dropped an air compressor on his foot and broke it while working as a garbage man?

Do you know if your husband was in a union for his job? The union contract may give your husband additional rights that may apply in this situation. Your husband would have rights under the Workers' Compensation Act to recover for his injuries and loss of income.

First, your husband should have workers' compensation representation as promptly as possible. If the employer fires him in retaliation for pursuing the claim, that is wrongful. That said, there may be a basis to fire him if there is a cause. For example, if company policy dictated that he should not have picked up the compressor, then there may be a basis for the firing that is not strictly retaliatory. All this would be best discussed in conjunction with the representation in the workers' compensation claim.