Lawyer for Employment Termination: Why You Need One
When an employer or an organization releases its workers against the rule or provision specified in the employment law or terminates the job contract without bringing it to the employee's knowledge, it is known as wrongful termination.
Nevertheless, you must note that this type of termination usually differs depending on the terms specified in the employment contract. Moreover, wrongful termination can often be challenging to prove as the employer or the organization terminating the employee usually have the upper hand.
Hence in all such cases, it becomes imperative to seek the assistance of a lawyer specialized in handling matters related to employment termination. A lawyer for employment termination is an attorney who specializes in handling issues related to the forceful or wrongful release of an employee from their workplace. These lawyers usually help the plaintiff to file a suit against the employer or organization terminating them and seek legal remedy.
Keep reading below to learn more about a lawyer for employment termination and their responsibilities toward their clients.
What does a Lawyer for Employment Termination do?
If you think you got terminated from your job due to some unreasonable reasons, it is time you consult a lawyer for employment termination. A lawyer for employment termination can present your case in court and help you get legal remedies for your wrongful release.
Likewise, an employment termination lawyer primarily holds expertise in resolving matters related to the following:
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Illegitimate Reasons for Employment Termination
An employer or an organization cannot lawfully terminate any person without a valid reason as it breaches an employment contract or infringes the law. In addition, unlawful termination reasons include firing any person in breach of anti-discrimination law or firing as a form of sexual harassment. It also includes firing in infringement of labor regulations and terminating in retaliation for a worker's complaint against the supervisor or the organization.
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Employment Contract Violation
If a person got hired under an employment contract, their organization must have complied with the contract's specification. If the employment contract explicitly lists grounds due to which a person may get fired, the employer cannot terminate the person for a reason not incorporated in the contract.
However, most companies usually do not have written employment contracts. So if you work in a company having a written agreement that defines the reasons for termination, any other grounds for termination is a violation of the employment contract. A lawyer for employment termination can help you review the document and determine if a stated reason for termination is valid according to the employment contract.
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Wrongful Employment Termination Cases
A lawyer considers numerous facts when evaluating a wrongful employment termination case. Furthermore, they seek details to prove that the termination was still unlawful despite the employee getting terminated for cause or no reason.
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Differential Treatment
If you got terminated due to expressed performance issues, your lawyer might be interested in understanding whether other employees got fired for the same declared performance issues. If not, your lawyer will seek proof that demarcates your company treated you differently based on a lawfully protected standing, such as your race, gender, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age.
Your lawyer will seek proof confirming that the articulated reason for termination is wrong. A false ground for termination is known as a "pretext" when the company uses it as a cover for the actual, unlawful reason.
Understanding the Types of Employment Termination
Below are some prominent types of employment termination that require a suitable legal intervention to safeguard your right to work lawfully.
- Discrimination: If an employee gets terminated because they belong to a specific protected class, it is prejudice and believed to be an unlawful termination. Moreover, a job termination can also be wrongful if the company fires an employee because of their race, national origin, and disability.
- Breach of Fair Dealing and Good Faith: Breach of fair dealing and good faith refers to when company administrators release the workers from their job for a notional reason. For instance, an employer fires an employee by saying that the employee has been stealing enterprise belongings even when the company has no proof to reinforce this claim.
- Infringement of Public Policy: Similar to prejudice, it is deemed wrongful termination if an employee gets fired because they belong to an identified class or political party. Although similar to discrimination, the two terms are different in legal phrases.
- Family or Medical Leave: Workers who need extended medical leave remain covered under the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act). For instance, taking some time out from work to look after your sick loved ones or maternal or paternal leave. In addition, The Family Medical Leave Act states that not only are workers authorized to have unpaid leave, but they are also to have the same position to return to after their leave span.
- Constructive Discharge: No company can compel their employees to leave the job by making their work conditions so intolerable that it becomes impossible for them to work. An example of this would be if a supervisor moved the worker’s job position to a remote area or forced the employee to work in conditions they knew would be impossible for work. The concerned employee has the right to file a lawsuit based on constructive discharge.
- Retaliation: An organization cannot fire an employee who conveys to their employers for workplace infringements, as this would be an unlawful termination. Furthermore, workplaces cannot fire their employees for whistleblowing as they remain legally guarded against retaliation on the employer's part.
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Key Terms
- Retrenchment: Retrenchment indicates termination of employee service for a reason other than any punitive action. Nevertheless, it does not comprise retirement or superannuation, job termination because of health reasons, or the expiry of the contract. For instance, retrenchment usually happens when a company shuts a branch or headquarters at a respective site and fires the staff in that division.
- Workmen: It is a term that defines those employees whose primary function is not managerial, supervisory, or administrative.
- Employment at Will: This employment termination dictates that a company can terminate an employee anywhere at any location without a valid reason. Here, the company supervisors or administrators need not give any reason to the discharging employee. Nevertheless, employers must record the grounds to battle or prohibit any prejudice lawsuit, should it surface.
- Mutual Termination: As the name implies, this employment termination happens when both parties think they are not a right fit for each other. This type of termination is significantly less messy since it is a decision both the employer and employee agreed upon mutually.
- Remedies: Remedies for wrongful termination refer to the compensation employees receive for their unlawful discharge. The terminated worker may get their previous job, or they may receive financial damages intended to regain any losses they encountered due to being wrongfully removed.
Conclusion
If you think your company terminated you wrongfully, you should consult a professional lawyer for employment termination as soon as feasible. Additionally, employment termination cases can become complex as you will always remain responsible for mitigating the losses you suffered.
A lawyer for employment termination will be best suitable to help you comprehend your state’s specific regulations related to wrongful termination and your responsibility to mitigate it. Eventually, an attorney will also be competent to represent you in the tribunal as and when required.
