QUESTION
I was fired last week without any reason and was refused documentation of my discharge and believe I was fired in retaliation. Do I have a case?
Asked on Jan 21st, 2017 on Wrongful Termination - North Carolina
More details to this question:
I came into work on the morning of Thursday, January 19th, 2017 to find my personal belongings sitting on the desk in the office and my supervisor telling me that I was being terminated. I have never had any disciplinary action taken against me in this job and as recently as a week or two ago, was told that I was doing a great job. When I asked for an explanation as to why I was being terminated, all my supervisor would say is "I'm not getting into that". I then asked him to write and sign a statement that he was firing me, to which he also refused and made no documentation of. I believe that I have been wrongfully terminated on the grounds that I had spoken with upper management about things my supervisor had been doing that were not only very unethical, but in some cases, illegal and expecting myself and another coworker to break the law or lose our jobs. I believe I have a case against this company if I can find someone who would be willing to represent me.
1 ANSWER
4 Awards
North Carolina is an employment-at-will state which means an employee can be fired at any time for any reason. You can be fired for good reason, bad reason or no reason at all and there is simply no legal claim that you can file. The only time that an employee will have a claim for wrongful firing is when the employee can show that the termiantion was due to unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation. There is nothing in this post that would suggest you were fired due to unlawful discrimination.
It is possible that you could have a claim for wrongful discharge based on unlawful retaliation, but I cannot tell from this post. Unlawful retaliation occurs when an employee is fired due to having engaged in a "protected activity." There are not many protected acitivities in North Carolina, but do include things such as complaining about unlawful discrimination, certain types of wage complaints, exercising rights under FMLA and workers compensation laws and a few others. However, general complaints to upper management about unethical activity or illegal activity are not protected activities.
I suggest you consult with an experienced employment attorney to more fully discuss the termination to see if you have any options.
Answered on Jan 22nd, 2017 at 8:35 AM
I am an experienced attorney focusing on employment law in North Carolina and Tennessee. This post/response is not meant to constitute legal advice.