Can You Get Fired for No Reason in Connecticut?

According to the state’s at-will employment laws, yes, you can get fired for no reason in CT. Most employees working in at-will states sign “at-will employment” agreements at the beginning of their time with the company, which employers will use to show that you were aware of the rules. However, the termination of employment must not violate the federal laws that protect employees across the nation. Instances of discrimination, ageism, sexism, and other specific targeting of protected characteristics are violations of the law, and employees who suspect that there may have been an ulterior motive for their firing should contact an attorney as soon as possible.

Connecticut’s at-will employment laws do allow employers to fire someone without cause or without giving a reason. That means that your employer can suddenly let you go without giving you any sort of explanation for their decision, leaving you without a job unexpectedly. As long as they aren’t violating any federal law, they’re legally allowed to do so, regardless of how much you disagree with the decision.

Here are a few situations that are legally justified in an at-will employment state:

• Firing without warning
• Terminating an employee's employment for nuanced reasons, like they accidentally spilled the break room coffee
• Firing an employee and not giving a reason for doing so
• A team of employees shows up late for a job once, and the employer fires them on the spot

If you’re wrongfully terminated, that’s another story. In most cases, employers who are deliberately firing someone for a protected reason will do everything in their power to hide evidence of their wrongdoing, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. By teaming up with a trusted attorney, you can uncover their injustice and bring your employer to justice for their criminal actions.

You can’t be fired for discriminatory reasons in Connecticut. Despite the state’s at-will designation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOO) enforces strict regulations regarding discrimination in the workplace. You can be fired without reason or for no cause, but you can’t be fired for your:

• Age
• Race
• Skin Color
• Ethnicity
• Religious Beliefs
• Military Status
• Sex or Gender
• Mental/Physical Health Conditions
• Disabilities
• Any Other Protected Characteristic

Additionally, you can’t be fired for refusing to commit a crime on your employer's behalf, blowing the whistle on a crime occurring in your workplace, exercising free speech or other constitutional rights, or for legal absences under the FMLA. If your employer violates your rights, you have grounds for a lawsuit, and our employment law team is one of the best in the country, giving you the highest possible chance of reaching a favorable outcome.

You can sue your employer in Connecticut if they violated the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CTFEPA) or broke any federal laws regarding discrimination in the workplace. A simple difference of opinion isn’t grounds for a lawsuit, so you’ll have to have concrete evidence that your employer made their decision out of prejudice. This is often difficult, as they’ve likely worked to cover their tracks, so it’s best to team up with an experienced attorney sooner rather than later to increase your odds of success.

Once you’ve retained an attorney, they’ll begin investigating your case to determine if your employer, in fact, discriminated against you. If your employer hired a legal team, they’ll likely do the same, so make sure to speak with your attorney regarding how to navigate this challenging time. If you have it available, you should give all your applicable evidence to your attorney for their review. Any voice/video recordings, email records, or other hard evidence will help increase your odds, so make sure to proactively gather as much as you can before it disappears.

Suing your employer isn’t easy by any means. You’ll first need to negotiate to see if you can reach a settlement, which may or may not work in your favor. They could lowball you to see if you’ll take the offer and leave the matter alone, and if you don’t fully trust your attorney, you can run into a situation where you’re forced to accept this offer. 

Many law firms have to accept the first best offer of compensation because they don’t have the resources to litigate in the courtroom if the case moves further, leaving the victim without the proper restitution for the damage they endured. Finding out your attorney accepted a settlement offer for this reason is upsetting and frustrating, especially in a wrongful termination case, but you won’t ever have to worry about settling for less than you deserve if you team up with Morgan & Morgan. 

Wrongful termination cases are mostly based on hearsay. Your employer said this, and your manager said that, but if there’s no hard evidence, there’s almost no way to prove your employer violated the law. This forces many wrongfully terminated employees to walk away from the situation without any restitution for the damage, while their former employers continue on as if they did nothing wrong.

No one should be fired for their age, gender, skin color, or any other protected characteristic. If you suspect your employer is considering a termination of employment for a discriminatory reason, you should take every precaution possible. Record meetings with your superiors on a listening device, take screenshots of emails sent with discriminatory language and try to find other cases of the management firing employees for unjust causes to give yourself the best possible chance. However, while you should try to gather as much evidence as you can, be careful not to raise suspicion, as this can result in termination of employment under just causes.

Circumstantial evidence applies in wrongful termination cases, too, but there must be hard evidence. An employer firing you a day after you submitted a complaint about sexism in the workplace will only help if you have records of the complaint and your attorney has the skillset to convince a jury that your story is the truth. For the best results, make sure to speak with an attorney before the firing occurs so you can understand what to look out for, what kind of precautions to take, and how to ensure that your lawsuit results in success after the fact.

Can you get fired for no reason in CT? Yes, but only if your employer is not doing it from a discriminatory standpoint and you’re not legally protected under another statute. Connecticut’s at-will employment designation does allow employers to fire you without cause or without stating a reason, so any instances, when you disagree with the reasoning behind a decision, won’t apply.

There have been cases of employers choosing to ignore the rights that protect employees. Unfortunately, these situations happen all over the country, but you can gain an ally by your side by teaming up with one of Morgan & Morgan’s wrongful termination attorneys. Leveraging the resources of America’s largest personal injury firm, our team has the capability to take on any entity that’s violated your rights, and we have the track record to prove it, too.

In the most difficult moments of your life, Morgan & Morgan has your back. We’re prepared to stand by your side and expose your wrongful termination case, even if it goes to trial. Complete our no-risk case evaluation to get started.