December 10, 2021 | Labor & Employment Law

Losing your job can be a traumatic experience. It can be even more distressing when you are the victim of wrongful termination. Being dismissed wrongfully can cause a substantial financial strain on you and your dependents.

Wrongful termination occurs when a person’s employment is terminated illegally. Employers in the US cannot legally fire an employee for any reason that violates the law or is in breach of their employment contract. If you believe you have lost your job for reasons that are unlawful or in breach of your contract, you can make a wrongful termination claim against your former employer. However, bringing action against your former employer for wrongful termination can be complicated. Contact us to talk to an experienced wrongful termination attorney. We’ll fight on your behalf to get just compensation or re-instatement.

Was Your Termination Illegal?

Most employees that work in the US do so ‘at-will’. This means that their employers can terminate their employment at any time and for any reason. However, the law prevents employers from terminating employees for unlawful reasons or reasons that may be considered illegal or in breach of their employment contract.

There are ways that you can determine whether your termination was illegal. You can start by seeking the answers to the following questions.

• Did you have a written employment contract?

Did you have an employment contract with your employer? Did you have any other written statement that outlined promises for job security? If you have a written statement such as an employment contract, your employer is legally bound to comply with the provisions of the contract. For example, if your contract includes an explicit list of reasons for which your employer may fire you, your employer cannot fire you for any reason that is not included in the contract.

It is easy to argue a wrongful termination case when a contract or other written statement is available. This is because these written statements limit the reasons that employers can use for termination. Any other reason for termination would be considered a breach of contract. However, many employees enter employment without written contracts.

• Was your employer acting in bad faith?

Even without an employment contract you can still argue that your former employer’s actions were illegal if they acted in bad faith. That is if your employer acted in a way that could be considered unfair. Some examples of employers acting in bad faith include terminating an employee with the motive of replacing them with someone else whom the employer knows or has agreed to be paid less,  trying to force an employee to quit by giving them undesirable assignments such as transferring them to a remote area or terminating or terminating an employee to stop them from earning sales commissions or other benefits.

You will have to prove that your former employer acted in bad faith. This can be quite challenging. However, a wrongful termination attorney will have the resources and know-how to help you prove that your former employer acted in bad faith.

• Was your termination in violation of your former employer’s policy?

While your employer may not have provided you with a written employment contract, they may have policies and procedures that guide how they discipline their employees. If they failed to follow these policies and procedures in terminating you, your employer may be considered to have acted in a manner that was in breach of an implied contract. A wrongful termination attorney can help you determine whether your employer had such policies. They will also help you prove that your employer’s actions were in breach of these policies and therefore in breach of an implied contract with you.

• Was your employer’s treatment of you discriminatory?

Your employer may provide reasonable justification for your termination. However, it would be good to determine if other employees have been fired for the same reason. You may find that there is reason to believe that your employer treated you differently based on factors such as gender, disability, race, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation. This would be differential treatment and would be considered illegal.

Uncovering your former employer’s true motives in terminating you can be difficult. Your wrongful termination attorney will help you gather the evidence to prove discriminatory treatment by your employer. They will help you show that your termination was unlawful.

• Did your employer act in retaliation?

Was your termination by your employer a way for your employer to get back at you? Were you a whistleblower or did you file a workplace complaint? Your employer may have terminated you in retaliation for your actions. The law protects whistleblowers from being terminated as long as the report was made in good faith. Your attorney can help you seek evidence to prove that you were terminated in retaliation for making a workplace complaint or drawing attention to illegal activity.

If you believe that you’ve been terminated wrongfully, get in touch with us. We’ll help you determine the best approach to recovering damages or being reinstated.

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