Determining Wrongful Termination

By Greg L Stevens
Whether you've been confident in your placement for years or have started a new job not too long ago, the news that you're let go can come as a shock - particularly in the event of wrongful termination. While there's no single, all-encompassing rule dealing with wrongful termination, several legal guidelines work together to guard individuals from discrimination, harassment and uncalled-for firing. Below are just some of them, and in what way they could go hand in hand with your current unemployment.

Discrimination - Lots of personal attributes are guarded legally, which means that a manager cannot dismiss you for any one of them alone. These include but aren't limited to race, sex, disability, religious opinions and sexual orientation. Some states even see relationship or armed service status, age, tobacco usage and maternity as legally protected.

Retaliation - If a worker is associated with whistle-blowing (informing the authorities of an unlawful business issue or system), the supervisor cannot fire them as retaliation for their movements. This also is applicable if the supervisor had wanted the personnel to run any element of the business in an unlawful manner.

Constructive Discharge - This means the manager makes a change to the work place that keeps an employee from their work, so they leave. Some of the most often affected are people with health-related complications, who may be especially sensitive to changes to the immediate workspace.

Defamation of Character - This is when a company lets go of a staff member, because of some concocted grounds that can injure the good reputation of the individual. If the accusation is not true yet the single grounds for the firing, this type of accusation is protected by labor rules, but can be tougher to prove based upon the state of affairs.

Breach of Contract - This occurs when an employer breaks a spoken or implied agreement they had made with regards to the amount of time one can possibly expect to have their job. This refers to the primary arrangements made by both sides and whether the employee losing their place came as a shocker given the circumstances.

Breach of Good Faith - This is a very simple expectation that all bosses operate in a reasonable and balanced manner. While only certain states distinguish this as a defensible grounds to file a claim against a business owner, it depends on the particulars of each unique case.

If you believe you were fired for the wrong reason, you may want to find a lawyer. An experienced San Jose employment attorney can help you discern whether your case applies, and help you every step of the way.