Wrongful termination means you were fired for a reason that breaks the law or your rights as an employee. It’s not always easy to spot. You might get let go right after you report harassment or file a complaint. Sometimes the reason your boss gives sounds okay, but something feels off.
You don’t need to know everything about employment law to see when something is unfair. But it helps to know the common types of wrongful termination. Not every firing is because of discrimination. In this article, we will go over several types of wrongful termination.
1 – Retaliation
Getting fired after you speak up about something wrong at work is called retaliation, and it’s against the law. If you report harassment, unsafe working conditions, illegal actions, or unpaid wages, your boss can’t punish you for it. That means they can’t cut your hours, move you to a worse job, or fire you because of it. Even if nothing comes from your report, you’re still protected as long as you were honest.
Termination for whistleblowing incidents is also protected by law. These rules are meant to protect people who speak up when something illegal or unsafe is happening. If your employer fired you to get back at you for reporting a problem, that could break the law.
Sometimes retaliation is easy to spot. You file a complaint, and days later you’re fired. Other times, it’s more hidden. Maybe your boss starts ignoring you, gives you worse shifts, or moves you off important projects. If that treatment leads to you losing your job, it may still count as wrongful termination.
2 – Discrimination
Being fired because of your race, gender, age, religion, or disability is illegal. That’s called discrimination, and it’s one of the main reasons people are wrongfully fired. The law protects you from being let go just because of who you are. Even if your boss gives another reason, if your background played a part in the decision, it might still be discrimination.
This kind of firing doesn’t always happen in a loud or clear way. You might get fewer hours than others, be left out of meetings, or get written up for small things while others don’t. Maybe someone made comments that made you uncomfortable. If these things happened before you were fired, they could be signs of discrimination.
3 – Employer fraud
Sometimes when you’re hired, your boss makes promises about the job. They might say it’s long-term, that you’ll get training, or that your job is safe. If you took the job because of those promises, and then got fired in a way that goes against what they said, that could be wrongful termination.
This can also happen if they leave out important facts. Maybe they knew the job was only for a short time but told you it was permanent. Or they said you’d have support, but then gave you no help. If you were fired because you couldn’t meet expectations that were never clear, that’s a problem.