Wrongful termination is when an employer fires an employee without a weighty reason or prejudice. Such kind of termination is usually based on different kinds of discrimination against the worker. Any employee who has been fired without any reason may file a wrongful termination claim against his/her employer. Several cases of wrongful termination are described below:
- An employer cannot terminate an employee based on his/her sex, origin, race, nationality, age, pregnancy, disability or religion.
- An employer cannot terminate an employee for using the Family Medical Leave Act. This means that an employer cannot fire a worker if the latter has been absent for family or medical purposes.
- If an employee has performed a whistleblowing act i.e. he/she has reported about bad working conditions or other violations of the company he/she is working at, the employer, again, has no right to fire the employee.
- If the employer and the employee have signed an employment contract, then the employer cannot fire the employee violating any of the points mentioned and agreed upon in the employment document.
There are of course other cases of wrongful termination, too, however these ones are the main things practiced by some employers.
As it has been said above, an employee can file a wrongful termination claim against the employer, if he/she thinks he/she has been fired without any reason. Following are the main steps for filing a wrongful termination claim against the employer.
- Start with gathering evidence against the employer’s wrongful decision
- Document any written evidence of evaluation on the part of your boss or even your colleagues (for example certificates for good working performance, thank-you cards and so on)
- Collect the names and contacts of those people who may become potential witnesses in the court (you do this all to have evidence that you have been doing your job properly, if not excellently)
- If you think your boss or any other individual knew you were the whistleblower, mention it in your claim. Maybe that is the main reason why you have been wrongfully terminated.
- If your boss has been practicing favoritism towards certain individuals at your workplace and you think that’s the main reason why he/she has fired you, then, again, start collecting evidence. Maybe there are records of phone calls where your boss is using discriminatory comments or remarks. Such evidence may help you make your wrongful termination claim stronger.
And, of course, the last and the best tip for you is turning to an experienced attorney. If your case is really strong, the attorney may even work on a contingency fee basis for you. This means that you may not have to pay the attorney’s fees unless he/she has won the case for you.
