Employment Legal Help If you have been fired from your job without cause, you may be stressed, confused, and upset. You may be left wondering what you should do next. There is help available. When you are fired from a job, it is only reasonable to expect your employer to indicate why you were terminated so you will understand the reasoning behind it and not make the same mistake. If they have no reason to fire you, but they do, then you may be able to pursue legal action against them.
If the cause that is stated was frivolous, or they could not provide supporting evidence, you may be able to take action. If a cause wasn’t stated, but you think you were wrongfully terminated, you should consult with an employment law attorney. You should talk with an attorney right away because you have limited time to pursue a claim for wrongful termination if you have a legitimate case. Be sure to maintain a file of evidence and documentation for your claim against your employer.
Can You Be Fired For No Reason?
There are different laws concerning employment at will. Different states allow termination for different things, and some violations may lead to a claim in one state but not in another. In employment, at-will employment is a term that refers to contractual relationships in which an employee can be dismissed or terminated from their job by their employer for any reason. This termination can be without warning just so long as the reason for termination isn’t illegal.
What can you be fired for? There are many reasons for terminating employment. If you don’t adhere to company regulations, if you are frequently late for work, if you have unexcused absences, if you have poor work performance, if you cannot get along well with co-workers or customers, and so forth.
There are many reasons that you cannot be fired. Sometimes competent employees are wrongfully terminated from their jobs. Sometimes people are fired because employers are discriminating against employees because of their age, their gender, their religion, their race, or so forth.
Or, sometimes an individual is wrongfully terminated for being a whistleblower or you may be forced to resign because your employer made working conditions unbearable. Constructive discharge – or forced resignation – may be related to harassment, mistreatment, and reduced pay for reasons that aren’t associated with your work abilities or performance.
What you can’t be fired for – you cannot be fired because of your age. There are laws that protect workers ages 40 and older from age discrimination. You cannot be fired from a position simply because of your gender or because they decide that they want a younger team of workers. Either of these are examples of discrimination. If either occurs, there are laws that will help you throughout your discrimination lawsuit.
You are also protected if you are a whistleblower. Also, if company policy has specific guidelines for terminating an employee and the company doesn’t adhere to its guidelines, then you may be able to pursue a claim for wrongful termination because the company didn’t adhere to their own guidelines that were provided in detail in employee paperwork, such as a handbook.
What To Do
If you have been terminated without cause or if you think you were wrongfully terminated, you may be able to pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit against your employer for their actions. There is a strict time limit, or a statute of limitations for pursuing a claim, so you should consult with an employment law attorney who is licensed to handle such cases in your state. An employment lawyer can help you with your claim because he or she is familiar with the laws on both a state and federal level and will be able to review all the supporting evidence and documentation that you have for your case.
When you hire an employment law attorney for your wrongful termination case, they will most likely take the case on a contingency basis, which means that you will not have to pay them out of pocket and they will not be paid until your claim has been won or settled. Complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page today, so you can have the details of your case shared with an employment law attorney in your area. The lawyer will determine the best way to proceed with your claim against your employer.