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By John Moran
For the Financial Independence Hub
If you are ever fired from a job it can set your financial goals back quite a bit. Sure, you may receive a handsome termination and severance package, but you had planned on working for more years to reach your goals. Getting fired means you may have no money coming in for a while. What really makes that sting is when you feel you were wrongfully terminated.
If there was retaliation against you for doing something that you felt was right, such as calling out discrimination or a hostile workplace, then you were wrongfully terminated as that is illegal. You would definitely have a case for some DC employment lawyers but to make sure your case is successful you’ll need to take some measures. In this article, we will go over what you should do if you feel you were part of a wrongful termination.
Get an explanation from the company
Most jobs these days are at-will, meaning that you can actually be fired as long as you are not part of a protected class of workers. That doesn’t mean that any reason at all is valid justification. Even in states where employees are at-will you still can’t be fired for no reason.
You should get a written explanation from your company as to why you were fired. If you were wrongfully terminated then you should be able to rebut their reasons for firing you as long as you have some evidence to back it up.
If you feel that you were discriminated against for being a minority, woman, or for religious differences and you have some proof of this then you certainly have a case. Of course, the explanation won’t say anything that directly, so you’ll have to point out a flimsy reasoning as being part of it.
Document everything
When your company gives you a reason for termination that is clearly fabricated then you have to counter that with evidence. Hopefully you have access to your personnel files or kept them while you were employed so you can show that the reasoning they are giving doesn’t corroborate your files.
Have copies of any performance reviews that show that you had a history of being a good employee. If there was a specific event that changed your relationship with your employer then make sure to have a before and after snapshot of that happening so you can show that you were fired for that and not for the reason you were given.
Have witnesses that can corroborate your version of events and documentation that shows that you are giving an accurate description.
Talk to a lawyer
You can certainly file a complaint with your state’s regulatory agency that oversees labor issues without a lawyer. However, having a lawyer will speed things up and also find ways to get you compensation much more effectively.
Take all of your evidence and whatever documents you have and ask them what kind of case that you have.
John Moran is an American who enjoys the fine art of living well. His interests include anything wine, food or nature related especially when enjoyed with friends and family.
