You think you have a great job with a great company. You work hard and put in extra time when needed, but things start to change. Your manager starts giving you negative performance reviews and micromanages you. You go to HR, but they don’t seem interested in helping.
One day you come into work and find that your desk has been cleaned out and you no longer have access to the building. You’ve been fired—retaliation for speaking up about unfair treatment or discrimination. What can you do?
In most states, if you are terminated because of your membership in a protected class (like being a woman or an older worker), your termination is considered “wrongful,”—and there are legal protections available to help you recover financial damages as compensation for the harm done to you.
Here is what you need to know about wrongful termination lawsuits before deciding whether this is the right course of action for you.
What Is a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit?
A wrongful termination lawsuit is a civil action that an employee files against their employer if they have been terminated for reasons that violate state or federal laws.
Wrongful termination lawsuits are also referred to as wrongful termination claims, wrongful termination complaints, or wrongful termination suits. These terms all refer to a lawsuit that an employee files against their employer for violating the law by unlawfully terminating their employment.
Who Can Bring a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit?
You could bring a wrongful termination lawsuit if you were fired from your job because of discrimination based on race, age, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics.
You can also bring a wrongful termination lawsuit if you were fired as a whistleblower—that is, you reported illegal activities in your company and were fired in retaliation.
Conditions for Filing a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
Three conditions must be met in order for an employee to file a wrongful termination lawsuit:
- The employee must have been fired from their job;
- The employee must have been fired for reasons that violate discrimination or whistleblower laws, as pointed out earlier.
- The employee must file a complaint against their employer within a certain period from the termination date. Note that the amount of time an employee has to file a wrongful termination lawsuit differs in each state.
Damages in a Wrongful Termination Case
Damages in a wrongful termination case may include compensation for:
Lost Wages
It’s possible to recover lost wages in a wrongful termination lawsuit. If you were fired a few months into your employment, you might be able to recover lost wages for the months remaining on your contract. If you were fired after working for many years, you might be able to recover lost wages for the rest of your contract term.
Emotional Distress
If your employer violated discrimination or whistleblower laws and fired you, you may be able to recover emotional damages in a wrongful termination lawsuit. You could recover emotional damages if your employer’s actions caused you to suffer from anxiety, stress, depression, or other emotional consequences.
Reputational Harm:
You may be able to recover damages for reputational harm in a wrongful termination lawsuit. Reputational harm may occur if your employer does something to harm your reputation, such as making false accusations about you to other people.
In Conclusion
Being let go of your job is never easy. Even if you know it is coming, it’s still a shock, and you have to begin thinking about how you will move forward quickly.
In the unfortunate event that you are fired from your job for what seems like no good reason, you might be able to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against your former employer. Consider the information highlighted above to make a concrete decision.
