It is illegal to violate public policy when firing a worker—that is, to fire for reasons that society recognizes as illegitimate grounds for termination. Before a wrongful termination claim based on a violation of public policy will be allowed, most courts require that there be some specific law setting out the policy. Many state and federal laws have specified employment-related actions that clearly violate public policy, such as firing an employee for:.
Some states also protect employees from being fired for very specific reasons, like service as an election officer or volunteer firefighter. Some courts have also held that employers cannot fire you because you took advantage of a legal remedy or exercised a legal right—such as filing a workers' compensation claim or reporting a violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act OSHA. Employers may not fire even at-will employees for illegal reasons, and discrimination is illegal.
If you believe you were fired because of your race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, pregnancy, or genetic information, you should talk to a lawyer right away.
There are strict time limits and rules that apply to discrimination claims; for example, you must file a complaint of discrimination with a state or federal agency before you may sue your employer in court. For more information on these types of claims, see Wrongful Termination: Discrimination and Harassment. Employers are forbidden from retaliating against employees who have engaged in certain legally protected activities. To show that you lost your job as a result of your employer's retaliation, you must prove all of the following:.
In extreme cases, an employer's actions when firing a worker are so devious and wrong that they rise to the level of fraud. Fraud is commonly found in the recruiting process where promises are made and broken or in the final stages of employment such as when an employee is induced to resign. The hardest part of proving fraud is showing that the employer acted badly on purpose, in an intentional effort to trick you. That requires good documentation of how, when, to whom, and by what means the false representations were made.
A lawsuit for defamation is meant to protect a person's reputation and good standing in the community. To prove that defamation was a part of your job loss, you must show that—in the process of terminating your employment or subsequently providing references—your former employer made false and malicious statements about you that harmed your chances of finding a new job.
To win a case of defamation, you must prove that the hurtful words were more than petty watercooler gossip. It may be illegal to fire a worker:. If any of these describes your situation, consult an experienced labor or employment attorney in order to find out if you have a legal remedy.
Working America. Fix My Job. If you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated, it would be wise for you to contact an employment attorney and also seek unemployment benefits. Working with an attorney will help you determine if you were actually wrongfully terminated and where to go from there.
Seeking unemployment will help ease the financial hardship, while you seek new employment. The Workplace Fairness Attorney Directory features lawyers from across the United States who primarily represent workers in employment cases.
Please note that Workplace Fairness does not operate a lawyer referral service and does not provide legal advice, and that Workplace Fairness is not responsible for any advice that you receive from anyone, attorney or non-attorney, you may contact from this site. Find an Employment Attorney. Workplace Fairness is a non-profit organization working to preserve and promote employee rights. This site provides comprehensive information about job rights and employment issues nationally and in all 50 states.
More about Workplace Fairness. What is considered a wrongful termination? Can discrimination be considered wrongful termination? If you can show that you were terminated based on your race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, pregnancy, or age or other legally protected categories , your termination could be considered wrongful termination.
Most states have their own enforcement mechanism for discrimination cases, and are therefore not brought as wrongful termination cases. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads.
Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Job Searching Leaving Your Job. By Alison Doyle. Alison founded CareerToolBelt. Learn about our editorial policies. Key Takeaways Wrongful termination refers to when an employee is fired for reasons that are illegal, or if the firing breaches a contract or public policy.
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