Wrongful Termination
Wrongful Termination refers to a case brought by an employee against an employer claiming that they fired them for unjustified reasons. A wrongful termination claim can be based on several grounds, such as discrimination or breach of contract. State laws governing wrongful termination issues vary by state. Federal law provides some relief in wrongful termination disputes through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
"At-will" Employees
Most employees are considered to be what is called "at-will employees". "At-will" means that the employer can fire the employee for nearly any reason or even no reason at all. Employment "at the will of the employee" means that the employee can quit their job without suffering any consequences.
An "at will employee" may be fired at any time, whether or not they engaged in any misconduct or broke any of the employer's policies. A majority of states assume that employment is at-will unless otherwise stated.
If an employee has been hired according to an employment contract or has participated in a collective bargaining agreement, then they are usually not considered to be at-will employees. Instead, they will be held to the terms of the contract or agreement, which should state the terms of employment and termination.
An at-will employee can be fired for any reason that the employer determines, subject to several exceptions. Some of the more common exceptions to at-will termination are listed below. They usually involve improper or egregious conduct on the part of the employer.
Wrongful Termination due to Violation of Law
An at-will employee may file a wrongful termination claim if any of the following violations of law has occurred:
- Employment Discrimination- Employers may not terminate an employee on the basis of age, race, nationality, sex, or religion. Some jurisdictions include sexual orientation as a category for discrimination purposes
- Breach of Contract- If terms of employment or termination have specifically been provided for in a valid legal employment contract, the employer may not violate those terms. Either the employer or the employee could be held liable for breaching those terms
- Termination based on Retaliation ("Retaliatory Discharge")- According to Federal law, an employer is prohibited from firing an employee who has reported discrimination or harassment with authorities. Most retaliation cases deal with sexual harassment in the workplace
- Forced to commit an Illegal Act- An employer may not force an employee to commit an illegal act, and they cannot fire them for refusing to participate
- Taking leave- Employers may not terminate an employee who has taken leave for valid medical or family reasons
- Disregarding own procedures for termination- If the employee or company has provided for termination procedures in an employment handbook, they will be held to their own standards. They may be subject to a wrongful termination suit if they have disobeyed their own guidelines.
Wrongful Termination due to Violations of Public Policy
A wrongful termination claim can sometimes be successful if the employer has violated public policy considerations. Public policy is not law per se; rather it is the body of principles that underlie societal functioning. Public policy includes values and norms that reflect the overall collective moral and ethical disposition of a given community.
Some examples of termination that would violate public policy are:
- Firing an employee because they exercised a constitutional right
- Firing employees who reported their employee for violating the law
- Firing an employee for fulfilling civic responsibilities such as jury duty
- Firing employees who did not consent to activities which would violate the law
Again, public policy is not law and the majority of states would rather rule on traditional legal principles in awarding a wrongful termination recovery. This is because community standards are different from region to region and can be difficult to define or enforce. Nevertheless, some states do allow recovery for violations of public policy.
Remedies for Wrongful Termination
If the termination amounts to a clear violation of law such as discrimination or breach of contract, the employee will likely have a remedy against their employer. Such remedies include reinstatement to their position at work, and possible recovery of back or front-pay for wages lost.
In cases involving public policy, the plaintiff may also be able to collect punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to deter guilty parties from repeating their actions. Punitive damages would be favorable in a public policy claim, since courts typically desire that people follow doctrines of public policy.
Breaches of employment contracts are somewhat rare. However, recovery in those instances would be according to the terms of the contract, so long as the agreement was reached in good faith. Employees would not be able to recover if terms are too speculative or are incapable of being determined (i.e., being required to produce a certain number of sales per year). Also, punitive and other types of damages are not usually awarded in contract cases.
Points to Consider
If you feel that you are involved in a wrongful termination suit, you should keep detailed accounts of the circumstances leading up to the termination. Include dates and names, as well as wages or benefits that might be owed. You should do this whether you are the employer or the employee. To recap, some major points to keep in mind are:
- Unless stated specifically, courts will usually assume that employment is "at will"
- If employment is "at will", then the employment may be terminated without cause, unless subject to an exception to at will termination
- Check to see if the termination has violated either the law or public policy