Employers do not take firing employees lightly as it can impact their team’s morality. Plus, they do not want to risk violating any labor laws. However, you can still experience wrongful termination.
Wrongful termination is an issue. This is when an employer terminates you for an invalid reason. If you believe your employer terminated you for the wrong reason, go through this checklist to see if you are right.
Understand wrongful termination
While you might feel that your employer wrongfully terminated your employment, you have to understand the legal definition. That is any time an employer terminates your employment due to an illegal reason. Illegal reasons violate laws, such as those that prohibit retaliation. Some common examples of wrongful termination are:
- Discrimination
- Retaliation
- Failing to give a valid cause
- Disapproval of your medical history
If your employer fired you in a way that violates public policy, your employee contract or government policy, you have a case.
Consider potential misconduct
Review all of the documents associated with your employment. Based on these, rule out if you are guilty of potential misconduct, poor attendance or unsatisfactory performance.
Review your employee contract
Then, review your employee contract. Make sure that your employer did not follow the firing process laid out in this contract. For example, see if you were not given a warning, your employer did not follow progressive discipline steps or they did not offer severance pay.
Wrongful termination can occur. If you believe your employer fired you for the wrong reason, you must take action. However, this will be a complex legal battle. Therefore, you need to know what to do in this situation. Following these steps will help you decide if you have a case and what to do next.
