Wrongful Termination - Who Can Sue
If you have been recently fired from your job for reasons that you believe to be illegal or a violation of your rights, you may want to contact a wrongful termination lawyer to discuss the details of your case.
Legal remedies that may be available to you include money damages and, if you haven't been officially released yet, negotiation for an appropriate severance package that includes adequate compensation.
Violation Of Employee Rights
The term "wrongful termination" means that an employer has fired or laid off an employee for illegal reasons in the eyes of the law. Illegal reasons for termination include:
Some of these violations carry statutory penalties, while others will result in the employer's payment of damages based on the terminated employee's lost wages and other expenses.
Certain wrongful termination cases may raise the possibility that the employer pay punitive damages to the terminated employee, so contacting a wrongful termination lawyer or employment attorney is recommended.
Examples Of Illegitimate Termination
Employers can't legally terminate you solely on the basis of gender, race, creed, disability and a variety of other discriminatory reasons, so if this takes place, you can sue.
You can also sue if you work on contract for a specified period and are satisfying the terms, employers typically can't terminate your contract without good cause before the specified period ends. You do need to know, however, that an at-will or non-contract employee does have the same rights as any other worker in the United States. He or she might not have a union representative or a guarantee against loss of employment, but law no matter where you live prohibits things like discrimination and retaliation.
In addition, you might be able to sue for
wrongful termination if your employer intentionally defamed you to justify terminating you. If an employer is spreading harmful, yet false, information about you, it is actionable through a lawsuit.
You can sue for wrongful termination with an
employment lawyer or wrongful termination attorney in cases where your employer has violated these laws. If you fit any of these examples, you should contact a local employment attorney or wrongful termination lawyer to file a wrongful termination suit.
Recent News About Wrongful Termination
A recent trend that employment lawyers and wrongful termination attorneys are seeing more and more is wrongful termination in the current economy. With the unemployment rate at above 9 percent, it is harder to get a job than it was five years ago. With this if you get fired with no clear cause, you can sue for wrongful termination. Since wrongful termination involves lost wages and can include punitive damages, they can be costly to employers.
For example, fired Fox News entertainment columnist Roger Friedman filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Fox News, News Corp, 20th Century Fox and Rupert Murdoch in New York State Supreme Court. In the suit, Friedman seeks $5,180,000 in damages for wrongful termination, tortuous interference, and libel defamation.
In a smaller $120,000 settlement, an
employment attorney reached a settlement for a client in a FMLA violation and
disability discrimination case. The client was wrongfully terminated in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Legal claims were filed on behalf of the client.
If you feel you have been let go without cause, you should contact an employment lawyer to find out your rights.