You rely on your job to maintain your way of living. When your employer terminates your employment agreement suddenly or without due cause, you may worry about what lies ahead and how you will cope financially.
According to the Legal Information Institute, wrongful termination occurs when your employer breaches an employment contract or another employment law and moves forward with firing you. Although your employer may not need a reason to fire you, the court may consider the termination wrongful if it complies with certain criteria.
Common examples
One of the most common forms of wrongful termination involves a breach of an employment contract. This happens when your employer terminates your employment in violation of a written contract previously established. Your employer can also commit wrongful termination if you get fired out of retaliation, harassment, discrimination or because of whistleblowing.
Next steps to take
If your employer let you go and you believe that it happened unlawfully, review the terms of your employment contract. You can also go and talk to your prior human resources department, even if you are no longer employed with that business. This department can provide information about any benefits you may be eligible for as well as what your old company’s termination process looks like.
Refrain from talking to coworkers about the wrongful termination situation and collect as much documentation as you can surrounding the event. Start by documenting any conversations you had with your previous employer, gathering evidence of written communications that could support your claim and writing down your account of what occurred.
