Wrongful Termination Legal Questions

New York is an employment at will state. Most states are. With no union no government no employment contract you were probably at will. You could quit or they could fire you for no reason. The most common thing I hear every day is " I got a new boss and they fired me." That is not illegal unless they were motivated by your race to fire you. How would you prove that? Anecdotally. The boss made racial slurs, fired or demoted everyone of my race, or had a bias against minorities in general are some ways. Judges tell me "you know Mr. Urba that the employer did not have to be nice to your client." That is true. The supreme court agrees. If an employer has a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason to fire someone that is not illegal. Communication skills could be such a reason but they really need no reason. Any plaintiff which might be you has to prove discrimination. We talk to 10 or 15 potential employees before we accept 1 as a client. That's because of how challenging it is to prove employment discrimination. Good luck. You need detailed specific facts and evidence and usually some evidence that you told HR or management about the discrimination before you got fired unless you can prove they already knew.... Read More

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where you can be fired at any time for any reason.  You can sue for wrongful firing only if you prove the firing was due to unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation.  The key word being "unlawful" as most forms of discrimination or retaliation are lawful.  I do not see any basis for a wrongful firing claim in these facts. Perhaps unfair, but not unlawful.... Read More

Is your employer agreeing to pay you severance or agreed to pay you severance? Do you still have time for some expert with employment contracts or severance agreements to review the one they will probably want you to sign? Or have you already signed a severance pay agreement more than 7 days ago; often meaning that you waived your right to potential, additional compensation? Were you a faithless servant? The Faithless Servant Doctrine is a common law doctrine. It applies in New York. It means that you have a duty to devote the time you are being paid for to the employer who is paying you. That applies to computers and other equipment or supplies provided to you by your employer. Did you use your employer's company time or their equipment to "job search." If so, how would your getting a new job have benefited your former employer? Why would this employer not have had the right to ask any of their employees about activities which the employer thought an employee had performed during company time or using company resources? Would it be wrongful for an employee to be untruthful or to refuse to cooperate, if those were the facts? "Wrongfully terminated" how? Labor and employment laws are not a civility code. Employers do not have to be nice to anyone. They can ask employees about activities performed during work hours or on the job. Were they asking you about job search activities you performed on your own time or on your own equipment? Your facts included nothing related to discrimination which might be wrongful. Were you a member of a protected class? Did the employer target you because of such membership? When and how? Your facts included nothing about employment contracts. Did you have one which was breached by this employer? For example, were you covered by employment contracts? They include collective bargaining agreements. Others are private employment contracts which might assure your employment from X date to Y date for this employer at an agreed compensation. Was this employer guilty of breaching such employment agreements? Doing so could be wrongful.  If you belonged to no union, did not work for the government, were not covered by any written employment contracts, nor are able to confirm facts to support discrimination how would you prove wrongful termination? Assuming you have not already waived your rights review all of the above documents, factual evidence and anything else and proceed timely if necessary. There are very specific time deadlines to pursue discrimination claims. Those deadlines are usually determined by a union agreement or contract or by federal or state laws. The laws usually require action by you within 300 days, 1 year, or in some limited cases 3 years, but don't count on the latter.  ... Read More

There's no guaranteed answer to this.  If you turn down the position and apply for benefits and your employer doesn't contest your application, then you proabably get benefits.  If your employer does contest, I would say yes because if you turn the job down for a necessitous and compelling reason, you can still get comp benefits.  Turning down an offer to drive to work that's 80 miles one way is probably compelling enough but really its up to the referree to decide.  ... Read More

Do you fall under the labor and employment, computer employees exemptions pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or New York's Wage and Hour Law? The following NYS Department of Labor link might help: https://labor.ny.gov/legal/counsel/pdf/Other/RO-09-0054%20Computer%20Employee%20Exemption.pdf You are correct. Control is important. But there are exemptions, under federal and state wage and hour laws, regardless of control. One exemption applies to computer employees. Were you one? You stated some skills which sound like ones applied by computer employees. Developing custom order forms, working with pdf style documents, posting such forms on the web for potential interactivity? Labor and employment experts should carefully evaluate the skills you applied and the duties you performed. Neither employers nor employees determine 1099 status nor W-2, Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) compliance in New York. Those determinations are made by the Department of Labor (DOL). 1099 versus employee status is not governed by private contract. Even private employment contracts, drafted by lawyers, calling some workers independent are wrong. But if those "independent contractors" are exempt, regardless, under federal or state wage and hour laws, would such errors be material or relevant? If the above has confused you then you are not alone. Call the state or federal DOL for clarification. Regarding wrongful termination, did you have a contract which was broken or were you subject to discrimination? Assuming you were non-union, non-government employed, not subject to a term certain written employment agreement, how were you discriminated? And how might the IRS, dealing with income tax, help you?... Read More

Your race and the race of the person who terminated you are not legally imporant. What is important is the motive.  In otherwords, why were you fired? If you were fired due to your age or race, you may have a legal claim. If you strong evidence that age or race was the reason, then you may have a strong legal claim. There is a very short period for filing a legal claim on race or age so consult with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible.... Read More

It is against public policy to fire someone in relatiation for filing a workers comp claim.  It's difficult to prove that a firing is retaliatory.  Often it must be close in time to when the employer finds out about the claim and usually comes with some kind of email or statement revealing the retaliation. Your firing could have been for any number of reasons.  Why do you think it was due to your work injury?  Its not necessarily unlawful to terminate an employee who happens to also be out on a work injury disability.... Read More

I am assuming you deny the allegations.  they are not legally able to withhold your final paycheck.  You could file a complaint against them with the PA department of labor, wage and hour division to pursue your right to receive your final paycheck.  If the allegations have any merit, you should consider retaining counsel as soon as possible.  I would not suggest that you communicate with your employer or anyone on behalf of your employer in writing about the allegations. ... Read More

This certainly sounds unfair, but not necessarily unlawful.  There are no laws in Tennesee that specifically prohibit retaliation, bullying or targeting in general. There are specific laws that prohibit some of this conduct in specific situations. For example, if you are bullied or target due to a factor such as sex or race, you could have a claim for unlawful sex or race based harassment.  Additionally, if you were retaliated against for a legally protected activity such as using FMLA or requesting workers compensation, then such act might be unlawful. Otherwise, Tennessee is an employment-at-will state where an employee can be fired for good, bad or no reason at all.... Read More