One day you’re at your desk, enjoying your job, and the next, you’re being booted out the door with immediate effect. Being terminated is a traumatic event in anyone’s life, but it is even more traumatic when it is wrongful termination.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming wrongful termination when your ex-company has gone by the book to make sure that it is all legal. Often employees get these five things wrong about wrongful termination – you need to ensure that doesn’t happen to you:
Unreasonable Doesn’t Mean Wrongful
Being terminated in some states can be perfectly reasonable, even when it’s for a seemingly unreasonable reason. There is a legal principle called “employment at will” and that means that you can lose your job for pretty much any reason or even no reason at all.
Unless you have an employment contract between you and your employer, you can go at any moment.
At-Will Limits
The only limits to the above legal principle are in cases of discrimination. No matter what your employment type is – you can never be legally terminated for unlaw discriminatory reasons. It should be reiterated that there are no examples of legal discrimination because it does not exist.
If you suspect that you have been terminated for discriminatory reasons and not just for not being alert, you need to consult an attorney because your employer can be held liable.
Voters Safety
Many employees believe that they can be fired for publicly admitting who they voted for. Your selected presidential candidate is your business, as are your rights for expressing your political inclinations.
The only time you can be fired for that is if you get carried away and commit an unlawful offense during election season. Several states offer legal protection to citizens who want to attend political rallies and events, but you’ll need to consult a professional for wrongful termination cases to see if yours qualifies.
Discrimination Is Unacceptable
Every single person with a unique gender, religion, race, or marital status has the right to be protected under workplace discrimination laws – amongst other things. Many employees wrongly believe that these laws are only there to protect women and minorities, but that is not true.
If you have been terminated because of your race, medical condition, or sexual orientation, then you can file a wrongful termination claim.
Exposing Illegal Practices
The penalties for businesses that fire employees that have exposed illegal practices are hefty. Those businesses can be shut down for good, so don’t be afraid to speak up if you think there is something shifty happening at your workplace.
Most larger companies have whistle-blower tip lines, and you can remain anonymous if you choose to. It is 100% illegal to be fired for speaking up – so rest assured that this shouldn’t happen to you or anyone you know.