The legal definition of wrongful termination is the termination of an employee that breached an employment contract or public law. For example, an employee cannot be terminated based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or disability. In addition, an employee cannot be fired on the grounds of retaliation, such as an employee reporting illegal activity or engaging in other protected activities.
Despite this, not everyone knows how to identify if they were wrongfully terminated. That’s why this article will provide you with five signs you were wrongfully terminated from your job.
Whistleblowers report at least 40 percent of illegal activity that occurs in the workplace. If your employer became aware of your reporting of unlawful activities, or you were suddenly fired after reporting, this can indicate that you were wrongfully terminated. For example, you can legally file a whistleblower action if you report your supervisor for filing false reports or stealing money from a cash register. If your employer fires you, they’re firing you for engaging in a protected act that is within your legal right, and that is considered wrongful termination.
Employees can be wrongfully terminated for participating in protected activities other than whistleblowing. For example, one of the reasons why pregnancy status is a protected class/characteristic is because many pregnant people are fired for either needing too much help, taking too many necessary breaks, or because an employer wants to fill in the spot before the pregnant employee needs to take leave. In addition, employees can also be wrongfully terminated for “asking for too much time off” or “being sick too often,” even though sick leave and time off are within their rights.
Sometimes an employer will fire an employee for seemingly no reason. If you ask your employee why you were fired, and they can’t or refuse to give you a specified reason, this may fall under wrongful termination. Legally, you are allowed to request the reason for your termination in writing. If your employer refuses to provide you with one, you could pursue litigation and further investigation.
In terms of harassment, wrongful termination could occur if an employee reported the harassment or if they refused the advances. For example, if an employer makes sexual advances at an employee and that employee refuses those sexual advances and is subsequently fired, that is wrongful termination. Typically, this is referred to as wrongful termination due to retribution or retaliation.
For those wrongfully terminated based on discrimination, this can look like an employer firing an employee due to bias against a race, gender, disability, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, and/or veteran status. Often, this kind of discrimination may appear as refusing to hire certain people, leaving them out of training and meetings, or giving them undesirable projects or clients to set them up for failure.
While being able to tell whether you were wrongfully terminated from your job can be difficult, it’s easier if you pay attention to these five signs. Subsequently, if you believe you’ve been a victim of wrongful termination, contact unlawful termination lawyer Tamara N Holder today to receive the legal representation you deserve.
