Every year, about 150,000 people are terminated illegally in the United States. This goes to show that many are not aware of their legal rights and that employers all over the country are abusing that fact. According to the laws and regulations, every employee who was wrongfully terminated has the right to file a claim against their employees, and receive substantial compensation in return.
Many employees do not know their legal rights. For that reason, they end up without a job and a stable source of income. On the other hand, employers use their power to change employees as they please, and it seems like employees do not have many rights to keeping their jobs.
If you are unsure whether or not you were wrongfully terminated, here are some of the most common signs that will help you realize that you were wrongfully terminated from your job.
You Were Fired on a Short Notice
Have you been terminated rather quickly, and without a warning? If your employer terminated you without giving you a heads up, without warning you or letting you know that you are on thin ice, you have every reason to be suspicious. Start thinking about the things that you have done, and the reasons why you were terminated.
Were you given a valid reason by your employer? Was it indeed a “valid” reason?The chances are that your rights were violated and that you were terminated illegally.
You Were Never Given The Promotion
If you were offered a promotion, a raise or any type of “advancement” in your career, yet you never received it, but instead got terminated, know that you may have been wrongfully terminated. There are many employers who will terminate their employees instead of having to give them a raise or a promotion. This way, they will keep the money in their pocket and hire someone else to start from scratch. Be sure to speak with an attorney, and explain your situation and how you were “for no particular reason” fired right before getting that well-deserved promotion.
A Victim of Discrimination
Have you ever been a victim of discrimination in the workplace? Have you ever experienced mistreatment, or heard others laughing behind your back, or telling jokes about you? If so, the chances are that you have been a victim of discrimination. If you were fired in addition, you may have the right to file several different types of lawsuits, depending on your situation.
But what if your employer has been discriminating against you? Before you can fully determine whether or not you were discriminated against, you should know the basic forms of discrimination, which are usually based on:
- Age
- Skin color
- Ethnicity
- Nationality
- Origin
- Sex
- Gender
- Pregnancy
- Disability
- Accent
- Political views
If you experience any of the above mentioned, your employer will have to prove that the termination was business-related. If they do not have valid proof, you will have a claim in hand.Remember to act quickly, while you still have the strength and the nerves to fight for your rights.
Whistle-Blowing
What if you witnessed something at work, and you thought that it was just “wrong”. As a law-abiding citizen, you decided to report this accident. Suddenly, you received a termination notice from your employer. What do you do next?
This is a typical whistle-blowing scenario. If this happened to you, regardless of the reason that you had in mind when reporting the behavior at your work, you have been a victim of retaliation from your employer and you have the right to file a lawsuit against them. According to the law, your employer cannot act against you if you reported something at work (unhealthy or unsafe conditions, discrimination, harassment). And if they do, you have every right to “fire back”, and sue them for a large compensation.
Violation of Public Policies
One of the laws states that you cannot be fired for taking time off for things such as:
- Military service
- Jury duty
- Serving in the National Guard
An employer is not allowed to fire an employee who takes family or medical leave (with notice) for a reason outlined in the family and Medical Leave Act. However, these cases are frequent, and often an employer fires an employee without hesitation. Sadly, most employees are not even aware that they have the right to take medical leave, and as a result, they end up losing their jobs.
Note: you cannot be fired for refusing to commit an illegal act at your employer’s request.
Defamation
Has your employer been spreading rumors about you in order to try and get you to quit? If you can prove it, you will have a case in hand. However, these things are hard to prove and require solid evidence before you can file a defamation suit.
It is no secret that many employers will try and talk behind your back or spread rumors to make you look bad. They will maliciously jeopardize your position among your colleagues, and try to do everything to get you to quit. If you do so, they win.
A post by https://www.azadianlawgroup.com/
