Fired Unjustly? Who Should You Contact?

You worked hard, performed your duties efficiently, and got along with all of your co-workers. Despite that, your previous employer fired you without notice. When you asked about your termination, you found out it was for an unjust reason. Now, you don’t know what to do.

If you were fired unjustly, who should you contact? Your next step should be to call the employment lawyers at Morgan & Morgan. Our experienced team of employment law attorneys will help you get compensation for your unjust firing.

To learn more about your options, contact us today for a free evaluation of your case.

What It Means to Be Fired Unjustly

There are plenty of legal reasons that an employer can fire you, including no reason at all. But even with all of this flexibility, there are still factors that can make firing an employee illegal. And when an employer unjustly fires an employee, that ex-employer can be sued to recover damages.

The best way to determine whether you have been fired unjustly is to speak to an employment law attorney and explain the circumstances surrounding your firing. The attorney can best determine whether you were fired legally or whether you should have been allowed to keep your job.

In general, your attorney is looking for one of the following specific reasons that can constitute an unjust firing.

Fired Because You Belong to a Protected Class

You can never be fired simply because you are a member of a protected class. Protected classes include:

• Gender
• Race
• Religion
• Pregnancy
• Ethnic background
• National origin
• Age
• Veteran status
• Disability status

If someone fires you for one of these reasons, they are violating your civil rights, and you have the right to receive damages for that violation.

You’re probably wondering why someone of a protected class would be hired in the first place if they would then get fired for being a member of that protected class. There are several answers, but usually, it’s because the person doing the hiring is not the same person who has the power to fire.

Regardless of how the situation came about, if somebody fires you because you’re of a particular religion, for example, you should speak to a Morgan & Morgan employment law attorney immediately.

Fired in Violation of the Employee Handbook or Employment Contract

Employee handbooks or employee contracts usually give precise rules for how and when an employee can be disciplined.

For example, many employee contracts will require managers to give a certain number of warnings before an employee can be fired. If your boss fails to follow the rules of your employment contract, you can sue for breach of contract.

These violations usually don’t happen in a vacuum. If an employer violates the employee handbook or employment contract to fire you, it’s usually because your ex-employer is violating your rights in some other way and is trying to hide that fact.

Your employment law attorney will investigate your case and determine why you were unjustly fired.

Fired After Being Treated Differently From Other Employees

Even if your ex-employer followed the rules in the employee handbook, you may have a case for being fired unjustly. If other people engaged in the same behavior that got you fired, but they weren’t let go, you can claim that you were treated unjustly.

Employers are required to give approximately equal treatment to all employees. If you believe your treatment wasn’t equal, you should speak to an attorney immediately.

Fired to Avoid Paying Benefits

One tricky reason that an employer might fire you is to avoid paying benefits that they would owe you if you continued to be employed. For example, an employer might fire you to avoid paying for vacation days that you have accrued or to avoid having to give you stock options that you will earn after a certain date.

If you haven’t done anything else that should result in losing your job, your employer is engaging in fraud by firing you. Just because a loophole allows your employer to avoid paying benefits if they fire you, that doesn’t mean the firing was just.

You can sue your employer to recoup the benefits that you would have gotten if they hadn’t fired you for the sole purpose of preventing you from getting those benefits.

Fired Unjustly? Who Should You Contact? An Employment Law Attorney

If you have been fired unjustly, you’re probably wondering what you should do next. You are suddenly without income and you’re worried that being fired will hurt your ability to find another job. Rather than trying to figure out what to do on your own, contact an employment law attorney.

Employment law attorneys have experience with unjust firings. We know how to determine the exact reason you were fired and whether it was just. When we determine you have been fired unjustly, we can uncover the evidence necessary to prove your case.

Just as importantly, our experience with employment law makes it easy for us to determine the full value of your damages. Losing a job means more than just losing income. It means the trajectory of your career has been knocked off course — something that could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

We also take into account lost benefits, including potential benefits, when determining the value of your damages.

Once we gather evidence and determine the value of your damages, we attempt to negotiate a settlement with your former employer. A fair settlement will get you money quickly, so you can start down the road to recovery as quickly as possible.

If your prior employer refuses to negotiate in good faith, we’re always willing to go to trial, where we can potentially get you a large punitive award.

Employers Hide Their Illegal Behavior

As previously noted, there are numerous legal reasons that an employer can fire an employee. However, an employer may try to claim a legal reason when, in reality, they’re firing an employee for an illegal reason. This scenario sets it up so that the employer can claim they didn’t realize what they did was illegal.

At Morgan & Morgan, we’ve seen this behavior countless times and know how to uncover the true reason that an employee was fired.

If you were fired, you should save as much evidence of your work conduct and the potential reason for the firing as possible.

For example, if your employer claims you were fired for tardiness, you should keep time card records that show you arrived on time to work consistently. That kind of evidence can prove that your ex-employer is lying about the reason you were fired.

Once we know why you weren’t fired, we will look for evidence of the real reason you were fired. Did you recently reveal that you were pregnant? Would your stock options have matured if you had worked another week? These are the types of questions we ask when investigating the true reason you were fired.

Employers know that if they admit to firing you for an unjust reason, they’re liable for damages. This is why most will attempt to conceal the real reason.

But usually, someone will slip up and admit to the real reason or some evidence will surface revealing it. Once we have that evidence in hand, we have a strong case to support your claim of being fired unjustly.