Wrongful Termination?

Question

I worked for an at will company for 3 years. I was fired over 6 min away from my desk. How can I hold the management of company for wrongful termination. I felt like I was completly blind sided.. I was fired before christmas. I cannot think of any other reason of that I am a Black man. Please help.. I only have 21 days to sign off on a severence package.

Answer 1

If you sign off on the severance package do you lose your right to sue? Are you treated differently in other respects from non-black employees? What you can do is file a complaint with the EEOC (federal) or the Human Rights Division of your state's Department of Labor. As an African-American, you are a member of a protected class. If your firing was racially motivated, the EEOC or Human Rights Division will file a lawsuit for you. At the very least, they will launch an investigation to see if your company promotes racial inequality. If you cannot think of any reason except your race, make the company prove a legitimate reason. Some of the answerers seem to be accusing you of playing "the race card" for no reason. I don't see it that way. All we can do is take your question at face value. You stated you know of no reason except your race. Therefore, file the informal complaint with the EEOC or Human Rights Division. You have nothing to lose. You have already been fired, so they cannot retaliate against you. If you were fired for racial animus, you have a duty to society to ask that this wrong be re-dressed and stopped from happening to anyone else.

Answer 2

As an 'at will' employee the only wrongful termination would be termination due to discrimination. An employment attorney can help you by trying to fit the discrimination bases (at www.eeoc.gov) into your situation. In a discrimination suit you must show that other workers who did a similar job, in similar circumstances, were treated better due to their age, sex, race, etc. Because others were written up but not terminated, you may have a chance with this. In conjunction with what poster Billy Big said, California has its own rules about employees - it is considered a pro-employee state regarding laws. Ohio and most of the Midwest and Eastern states are pro-employer, which means that the laws favor the employer. Yes, it is possible to take a termination case to appellate and high court levels by alleging that there is some implied contract in the Employee manual, if you have the money. That type of case would cost in the range of $7,000 to $15,000 up front. As for unemployment, in Illinois about 85% of all employers fight a previous employee's unemployment benefits. Why? Because the more previous employees that get benefits the higher the annual tax is on the employer. In an unemployment case there are 2 reasons not to get benefits 1. the employee quit and 2. the employee committed misconduct. Misconduct under the Unemployment Statutes does not mean that the employee made a mistake, it has a legal meaning. Again, you need to contact a local Ohio licensed employment attorney who can help you with these issues as they are under Ohio law. Good luck.

Answer 3

Ah yes, play the "Black" card.

Could it be that your job somehow is based upon you being at your desk, perhaps answering phones? Giving directions?

If your job is one that someone must relieve you before you can leave your desk, it does not matter HOW long you were gone if someone did not relieve you, they are justified in firing you.

If your work is "at will" they could have fired you for any reason. Poor sales requiring a reduction in staff, you were rude to a customer and yes, you were away from your desk for six minutes.

But by all means, play the "Black" card. That will definitely encourage them to hire another "Black" in the future. (This is sarcasm.)

Answer 4

How many "6 minutes away from the desk"? Are you in a "right to work" State. Are you the only person getting terminated? Too many questions unanswered to give you any real help.

Answer 5

One of the most basic things to remember is that what you can do depends on where you live and what the applicable laws are. You need to look into that, which is probably best done by getting professional legal input. What follows is not that professional input -- it is just some basic knowledge that might help get you started. Please get help from an attorney if you decide to pursue this.

So then: As you no doubt already know, employment-at-will (pretty much) means that either the employee or the employer can terminate employment at any time. Generally this can be done at least for good reasons. Some places allow termination for good reasons and for lack of reasons; others allow it for good reasons, lack of reasons and bad reasons alike. You need to figure out where your situation lies and what kind of jurisdiction you're in.

Still, in most places, injustice is not taken to kindly, and firings from at-will employment that violate concepts of justice probably won't go over well. Usually this will happen if there seems to be more of a contract than just something temporary -- sometimes called an implied contract -- or if the firing violates public policy, which it seems is your concern here.

What you might want to do is review your contract, if you have one, for the terms of your employment. Find out why you were fired, if you can. Then, if you're still concerned, seek help from a legal professional, someone who knows the applicable law.

Answer 6

Oh God.....how long until J.J and A.S arrive on the scene?

Again, racism being perpetuated.

Answer 7

being in an "at will" does not mean that they can fire you for just anything. they must have a reason for your termination, cutting back with no intent to rehire, poor job performance, violation of policy, closure of office or facility.
they can not terminate just because of race, creed, nat origin, sex, age et-cetra. you need to find out in writing why you are being terminated. since you are being offered a severance package it his highly unlikely you will have any recourse. severance packages are a perk not a requirement by law.
contact your local office of labor enforcement they can answer your questions and file a claim against this employer if there has been any kind of violation of the law. you do not need to seek legal counsel as so many are so quick to say. a lawyer can do nothing more for you then the labor department,
then after labor department is done and if they determine you were fired for a discriminatory reason you seek a lawyer and go after them for damages.

Answer 8

There is nothing unlawful about your termination. Unfair does not equate to illegal or wrongful

Answer 9

No offense, but why do people always bring race involved? Also what do you mean 6 min away from your desk? Can you give us more details?

Answer 10

If you are in a Right To Work state, your employer can fire you for any or no reason.