Employment Law

What is Wrongful Termination?

Just because you may have been laid off by your employer does not necessarily mean that you were wrongfully terminated. Wrongful termination is a term that is thrown around fairly regularly in the legal field. As a result, it’s important to understand what exactly it means and how it could affect you individually and legally. What qualifies as wrongful termination in today’s workforce? Labor law states that an employer cannot fire you on the basis of your age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability or any other reason that would violate anti-discrimination laws. An employer must have legal justification for their decision making process.

Did you know, that it’s illegal to fire an employee if they filed a complaint against the employer? They also can’t fire the employee if the employee acts as a whistle-blower and turns in the employer for breaking the law. At Timothy Brock McClellan Law, we fight for your right to fair employment. If you believe that your rights were violated and that you may have been a victim of wrongful termination, give us a call for a free phone consultation at no cost to you. At McClellan Law, our veteran attorneys can help you understand the legal mumbo jumbo and guide you through the entire process to assist you in making an informed decision.

Discrimination and how it affects me

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law enacted in the United States to end segregation in public places. It outlaws discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin. It prohibits an employer from discriminating a person based on these categories in both the hiring and firing of the individual. In addition, discriminatory actions can also include biases in promotions, job assignments and compensation.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts when dealing with Discrimination in the workforce

Unsure of what to do if you’re facing discrimination at work? Follow Timothy Brock McClellan’s steps to make sure that you can take the necessary steps to preserve your rights and put yourself in the best legal position possible.

• Write down all instances of discrimination. The human memory is never in a permanent state. It’s easy to forget and miss key details on something that happened in the past. This is why it’s essential that you write everything down immediately after an incident happens. Be as detailed as possible. If you have a clear timeline of the events that transpired, your case will be much easier to handle and legal officials may thank you later for your resourcefulness. Once you have clear written documentation, you should make additional copies for yourself. In addition, if you have quantifiable evidence of discrimination such as emails, pictures or other writing, make copies of those as well. Only make copies of documents you are entitled to have or are responsible for! Don’t steal any company documents.

• File a complaint with your HR Department. If your company has a Human Resources department, you should file an internal complaint. By doing so, you give the company a chance to rectify the situation. No company wants to be hit with a discrimination lawsuit. It would be in their best interest to resolve the situation as soon as possible. If you do not have an HR department, file a complaint with a supervisor or manager you trust. If no one qualifies, then you should keep it to yourself and consult your legal counsel.

• Do Not Quit your job. We know how hard it can be to go to work for a company that puts you in an uncomfortable environment. However, if you quit, your legal case will be much harder to fight. It’s very difficult to prove that someone quit due to a stressful work environment. If you’re having doubts or are unsure of what to do, give us a call and we can help you reduce the burden without risking your legal case for discrimination.

• Do Not take any harmful or illegal action against your company. This is self explanatory, but it should still be stated. If you’re dealing with an employment law issue, whether it be discrimination or a dispute, do not do anything that could potentially harm your case. Do not steal or make copies of confidential company documents that you think may help your case. Do not try to “get even” with your employer because they’ve wronged you. An eye for an eye is not how the justice system works. Your legal counsel will tell you all need to know and all you need to do.

• Don’t delay legal counsel. If a business or company is faced with legal jeopardy, they will do everything in their power to make sure their self interests are maintained. They are a business after all. They may hire their own lawyers and conduct an internal investigation on a discrimination case. The worst thing you can do is to let them control the case. Do not wait until they finish the investigation or fire you. It’s much more beneficial to have your own attorney during the process so that you don’t make any mistakes early on that could come back to haunt you later. Timothy Brock McClellan will be able to provide that service for you. Trust us, justice is what we get paid to do.

Unfortunately, many forms of discrimination can be commonplace in poor work environments. Most people don’t know how to deal with mistreatment nor how to take the proper steps forward when they have been discriminated against. If you’ve been placed in a precarious situation, Timothy Brock McClellan can help give you peace of mind. The first thing you want when dealing with labor law and discrimination is to have a seasoned attorney at law by your side defending your rights. If you give us the opportunity to represent you, we will make sure that we guide you through the entire process with a steady hand. We’ll ensure that you meet all of your legal deadlines for taking action when filing a discrimination charge with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) or if you decide to file a lawsuit.