Can I sue for wrongful termination?

Mel

You can sue for anything; however, in this case it is unlikely that you'd win. Wrongful term is usually claimed in cases where the termination is due to some clearly discriminatory or illegal act - I fired you because you filed a worker's comp claim, for example, or because I don't like Asian people and so I figure out how to terminate anyone who looks Asian. Those claims can often be proven or disproven by reviewing a company's records and files.

What is not easy to prove is one person's word against another's. Your manager says you were reading the paper - you say that you were not. You probably signed an acknowledgement when you were hired that you were employed "at will" and could be fired or quit at any time, with or without notice or cause. Of course, you can both call witnesses to dispute the other's claims, and you can each choose to pay a lawyer for a trial that can drag on for a long time - and there is a good chance you will end up with nothing more than a serious legal bill.

Think about where you really want to focus your energy here - on getting "revenge" that may or may not come about, or on getting a better job with a boss who respects you and treats you well.

SPIFIMAN1

Your right, it's not fair. But the truth of life is that if you live in a "At will" State, you can be fired for no reason at any time unless you are a Union member and are protected by a contract.

redvelvetflames4ever

Unfortunately you met a demon as I call my previous boss who can lie and cause your termination. The joys of an Employment-At-Will state. On your side right now is you won your unemployment claim which means they either found you were wrongfully terminated or terminated without cause. The story you tell does not have any legal premise which is why no attorney has contacted you; however, (and this is present experience talking) I hired a company by the name of Allison Taylor and asked them to do an executive background check for me which cost $99.00. In my case although it was literally picking at legal straws after the report was completed they found my former place of employment was giving me a horrible recommendation. This opened the door for retaliation in conjunction with there denial of my unemployment benefit which I won. Right now you have no legal premise, but if they are also going to offer a negative reference about you I can assure you an attorney will be more willing to take on your case and you can even file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

fawkesphoenix

This will depend in part on the conditions of your employment. If you were employed "at will" it means that either you or the employer can terminate the employment relationship pretty easily.

Dee

Previous response is right - it depends on what state you were employed in. In Texas, for instance, it is an at will employment state. Meaning that if you come in wearing brown shoes, and I decide those shoes are not appropriate - I can fire you. I don't have to tell you why.. I just let you go.

Glad you got unemployment though.

Alletery

In Ontario, wrongful dismissal is up to $70,000. You can have your lawyer negotiate a slightly lower amount if they agree to clean up your employment file or the type of reference they give out about you.

Pengy

No offense but especially if no lawyer will call you back I believe it was more that fired for reading a newspaper, that is not grounds to fire someone. There has to be more to this story

kajun

Of course you can...whether or not you win is another story

â™¥Ta Locaâ™¥

Your best bet is going to be to file a wrongful termination suit with the labor board of your state and see what they say to do from there...I would contact a lawyer that works closely with wrongful terminations and make an appointment don't wait for a call back

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