Unfairly Fired: What Qualifies as Wrongful Termination?
The Great Resignation is a term used to describe the mass resignation of employees from their jobs. This is the nearly 3% of the American workforce that has chosen to leave their employment on their own accord.But you may be surprised to learn that there were an additional 1.4 million individuals who were either let go or laid off from their employment through no fault of their own.As employment attorneys, we see people every single day who are terminated unfairly from their jobs and they face many obstacles to getting what is owed them. Most don't even try.What is a wrongful termination? How does the law handle wrongful termination? Is it difficult to prove you've been terminated wrongfully?No matter the circumstances, nobody ever wants to imagine getting terminated from their job and if you find yourself in this position, there are many things you should know that can help you. What Is Wrongful Termination?Wrongful termination is a legal term referring to when an employer terminates the employment of a worker for a wrongful cause. This termination is deemed unlawful, unjustified or in violation of public policy.What qualifies as wrongful termination? In the simplest terms, the employer fired an employee for a...
Pregnancy discrimination at work
Employers are not allowed to discriminate against women at work based on pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions. Pregnancy discrimination can include denying time off or reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees, firing or demoting a pregnant employee, forcing time off or restrictions on work, and other negative employment actions because of an employee's pregnancy or related medical condition. You may have a claim for pregnancy discrimination if your employer:Refused to hire you after learning that you were pregnant;Fired or demoted you after learning you were pregnant;Denied you the same or a similar job after you returned from pregnancy leave; or,Treated you differently from other temporarily disabled employees.Pregnancy-related conditions may also qualify as a temporary disability - for example, severe morning sickness, doctor-ordered bed rest, childbirth, recovery from childbirth, and similar medical conditions. Your employer must treat you equally with other employees with other temporary disabilities that do not involve pregnancy.Common facts that may show pregnancy discrimination include:During an interview, an employer asks an applicant how many children she has and if she is planning to get pregnant again. The employer then tells her to apply again after she has her child and is ready to work.A female employee tells her boss...
What is employment law?
What is Employment Law?Employment law regulates employers’ treatment of employees.It says that employers can’t discriminate against employees because of race, gender, pregnancy, national origin, age, religion or disability. It says that supervisors cannot sexually harass women at work. It says that employers must afford reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with physical or mental impairments. And it says that employers cannot retaliate against anyone for complaining about discrimination or standing up against discrimination or harassment at work. Employment law, in essence, is the law that imports our basic civil rights as Americans into our capitalist, corporate economy.Where would we be without the great civil rights laws? We’d be in a country like Russia, where employers can sexually harass employees with impunity, fire someone when he turns 50, refuse to hire someone in a wheelchair, or punish someone for opposing discrimination at work.Employment law broadly encompasses the areas of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, sex discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, race discrimination, disability discrimination, religious discrimination, age discrimination, medical leave, FMLA leave, status-based negative stereotypes, and retaliation. The employment laws create important rights that can be enforced in court and provide remedies such as damages for lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, attorney fees and...