Getting fired from a job is never easy. Where you once had a steady stream of income coming in, now you are suddenly left without that income. This could certainly leave you in the lurch and for this reason, you may need to look into whether you went through wrongful termination . This form of illegal termination is in violation of employee rights and you may be entitled to compensation above unemployment checks. It is important, therefore, if you think you may have been subject to wrongful termination, to explore the at-will employee laws that you were probably working under to see if you have a basis for a wrongful firing lawsuit.
There is no single wrongful termination law. Most employees and employers work under an at-will basis, meaning that they have the same right to fire you as you do to quit. Unless you have a contract with the company that states that you have a right to work for this company, which is incredibly rare, you are working under at-will employee laws. These at-will laws, which nearly every state has adopted, dictate that an employer has the right to fire you with or without a reason just as you have the right to quit at any time with or without a reason. This can make proving a wrongful termination rather difficult.
Illegal termination usually takes place under a few different types of circumstances. If the termination took place against public interest, it will generally be considered a form of wrongful firing. For example, if you were fired because you filed a claim of worker’s compensation, it will be a wrongful termination. If a whistle-blower was fired for their actions, it is also considered under the wrongful termination category. Both of these actions by the employer would be considered counter to the public policy behind worker’s laws.
Legal protection can also be sought for breach of contract. Even though at-will employee laws will generally have a contract with the employer, most of these contracts will have a clause holding the at-will laws up. Therefore, despite the contract, an employer will still have the right to fire the employee at will. Wrongful termination in a breach of contract usually applies to those belonging to a union, where an employee was fired out of the terms of this contract. Pursuing legal ramifications for this act will often come about after that employee took all action possible through their union.
A breach of an implied contract may be enough to file a wrongful termination lawsuit , although most employers will take steps to protect themselves against this. Employee rights dictate that even if verbal statements are made by your employer, which are then violated, you may have legal protection regarding wrongful firing. Many of these verbal statements will relate to an employee handbook which is used to determine the set behavior needed by all of the workers at an establishment. Many employers may have you sign a document saying that these documents do not comprise a formal contract, as this can protect the employer for illegal termination charges based on an implied contract.
Employee rights may protect some employees based on the state that they live in through the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealings. This basically dictates that even though at-will employee laws are in effect, legal protection should be given to all employees who are fired without “good cause.” Any employee who may be terminated to avoid promotions or raises or if new reasons are invented so that a certain employee may be fired, you should be able to find protection for wrongful firing. If an employer fabricates reasons to fire an employee, legal protection can be found under defamation of character. This is often problematic, however, for many states hold at-will employee laws to such a high regard that the right for employers to terminate their employees is protected. If an employee is driven to quit, they may be protected by a constructive discharge, although this can often be hard to prove.
Discrimination law is where most wrongful termination is successfully given legal protection . Although the specific laws will vary from state to state determining who is protected under discrimination law, most people are typically protected from illegal termination based on their age, race, sex, national origin, color, religion, disability, or if they become pregnant. Any worker who is fired because of any of these conditions is protected under a wrongful firing and should be able to receive restitution based on the actions which happened. These employee rights determine that anyone should be protected under basic discrimination law and that at-will employee laws do not apply to who an employee is at a basic level as a human being.