There are some ways to ensure that a company is not able to terminate an employee without properly following certain steps, and most of these are due to wrongful termination laws for the country. It is through a wrong reason in firing a worker at a company that the employer or management may find serious complications or litigation.
The most important at-will termination protections in place are those that violate certain safeties to civil rights, wrongful terminations and violations of labor laws that the company may engage in when the person works there. The employer does not have the ability to discriminate based on the civil rights granted to each citizen in the United States. When any violation of federal laws does occur, the company may face litigation of a harmful nature to the reputation of the business and that could cost the company thousands or more depending on how many individuals suffer injury.
The Civil Rights Act
While the Act does protect certain classes of employee, it has a nation-wide safety for any person for national origin, race, color of the skin, male or female gender and religious affiliation of any type. This would lead any discriminatory practice for hiring for any of these reasons to a lawsuit. Neither male or female may face such discrimination based on gender, even if the job specifically is for men. However, qualifications and educational background may play into hiring practices. Additionally, the employer may have certain rules that may prevent discrimination from becoming a factor.
The EEOC
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission works in conjunction with the civil rights afforded to every citizen in the United States to remove discrimination and harassment from the workplace. When the employer discriminates for the protected items as well as age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, genetic details, gender association, the children of the employee and retaliation for opposing such discrimination, he or she may face another type of lawsuit through the EEOC. This federal agency works with the employee closely to monitor such instances of discrimination and will provide protection in some manner. It is important to contact as soon as any violation occurs to work on a case immediately.
Contracts in the Workplace
While there are several laws that govern contractual obligations, a company is bound by the contract that an employee signs. Some may encompass the type of work or pay, but the details often explain the length of work and how to retain employment. When the company violates these terms, the employee has protection against such action. This changes the employment term from at-will to whatever stipulation the handbook, contract or document specifies. In some rare cases, this may also constitute an oral contract when the employer states certain terms of employment. It is generally best to contact a lawyer if a contract breach occurs to initiate the best possible attack against the violation.
Wrongful Termination
There are several ways to terminate a person for a wrong reason. Any violation of the EEOC, Civil Rights Act and work contract may cause a claim against the company by the employee. However, the employer may also fire someone in another manner based on state laws or federal laws attached to state laws that protect the workers. Some of these matters have coverage through handbooks, contractual agreements or by employee applications for work at the company. It is often in the fine print that a lawyer may find protections for employees. Some safeties exist for whistleblowers for retaliation and termination.
The Legal Protection and the Lawyer
When an employee faces termination for any number of reasons that the employer does not have the permission to enact, this could lead to litigation against the company for reemployment or damages for the injury it causes financially. Often, this leads to new work with a compensation package similar to workers’ compensation within a company. This would encompass two-thirds of what the employee would earn at the company averaged over the last few weeks of time he worked at the business.
Through legal representation, it is possible to succeed in this action.
The lawyer hired for these claims would need to work hard to determine if wrongful termination is the reason for the claim. Any discrimination, harassment or an EEOC violation could increase the chances of winning significantly. By hiring a lawyer, the former employee may discover all the ways he or she has protection through federal laws within the country and apply them in court.