Do I have a lawsuit?

Question

I was recently fired from my job as a production assistant on a miniseries, supposedly because I didn't "follow through" on things. However, several people heard my boss saying he wanted to fire one of his permanent production assistants so that he could hire a part-time girl with an accent that he thought was "hot," which is the girl who replaced me. My job performance honestly didn't change at all. I worked ten weeks on this project only to be replaced four weeks before it wrapped. I was the only assistant on set from first shot until camera wrap every day. The other people on the set find the fact that I was fired ridiculous - especially when another assistant who is friends with my boss was given a raise despite the fact that we had the same position, and he was disliked by almost the whole crew. There's a lot of stuff going on with this situation, but I don't know if any of it merits legal action.

Answer 1

I will assume that this was an at-will situation (i.e. no contract). In an at-will employment setting, and employee may be fired for any reason whatsoever EXCEPT for one of the prohibited bases listed in the Civil Rights Act or the local employment discrimination statutes. The issue here is, therefore, whether firing a female employee to replace her with a more "hot" specimen is tantamount to discrimination on the basis of gender.

I once handled a big case with the exact same issue and had to litigate it very extensively. My client, an older but still highly competent woman, was forced to retire so that her position could be offered to a young and attractive (and admittedly much less competent) woman. Eventually, the judge upheld the age-based claims but dismissed the sex-based claims. It seems to be the prevailing interpretation of the law among federal courts that the situation you are describing is not sex discrimination. The rationale (a flawed one, in my opinion) is that an employer such as your boss does not discriminate against all women -- just "ugly" ones. (I am not calling you "ugly", this is just a simplification of the courts' reasoning.) In my case, the judge actually noted in his decision that the defendant, clearly a womanizer, was only too eager to hire women -- as long as they were young and sexy; and if anything, he was discriminating against men, not other women.

So based on what you told me, no, as deplorable as the situation is, I don't think it's a case. However, none of what I say counts as a substitute for discussing this situation with a lawyer. I strongly suggest you seek the opinion of an employment discrimination attorney in your jurisdiction.

Answer 2

Sounds like it may be worth talking to a lawyer, but don't get your hopes up too high. If the project was going on for only another four weeks, your damages are limited, so it's unlikely you'd get a big payday out of this even if you can establish some sort of discrimination. If you and your replacement are both female, that just compounds the difficulty. So the unfortunate answer is "maybe." Don't delay if you want to pursue this, but give some serious thought as to whether it's really worth it.

Answer 3

The first question is do you live in a right to work state.
I found out that the only way to file charges against a company is for harassment of some kind.

People have the right to quit a job anytime we need. as a company can let us go anytime they choose. Although it is most devastating to lose our jobs, companies also can protect themselves from law suites without proof of some type (not hear say) of harassment, you have no case.

Answer 4

Sorry dear, but it sounds as though it would boil down to a "he said, she said" thing. Persuing a lawsuit over this would not be worth the trouble - and you could end up with a bad reputation out of it. "She's the girl who sued so-and-so because he let her go." -- and it could follow you on to other jobs, or rather, prevent other people from hiring you for fear you might sue them over something minor. Chalk it up to a learning experience and move on.

Answer 5

Did you have an employment contract which stated the terms under which you could be released? If you do not, your employer is perfectly within his rights to fire you for any reason he sees fit. It is called employment-at-will and is assumed unless you have a specific contract with your employer.

Answer 6

It depends if he can prove that you didn't complete the tasks you were assigned, or if you didn't wrap up all the loose ends after finishing a project. Talk to a lawyer with specifics.

PL

Answer 7

Unless you had a contract, you were an at will employee. That means you can quit for no or any reason, and they can fire you for no or any reason. Unless they fired you for a discriminatory reason, which is not what you described, you don't have a case.

Answer 8

Most companies have an "at will" policy which means they can fire you for any reason or without any reason.

The only way you can sue a company for firing you is if you can prove it was for racial, religious, age or gender reasons.