wrongful termination

Wrongful termination, like the term "employment law", is a very broad description of a number of different types of employment claims. A termination is wrongful, i.e., illegal, only if it violates a statute or some common law theory of liability or is a breach of an employment contract. Most non-government employees in the United States are at-will employees. This means either the employer or employee can terminate the employment relationship for any reason, other than for one that falls within one of the few exceptions to the at-will doctrine. For instance, an employer who terminates an employee on the basis of race has violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is because Title VII makes a termination on the basis of race illegal.

Unless an employee works for the government in a “covered” position or has an employment contract for a definite period, an employer is free to terminate an employee for any reason that does not violate the law. A termination can be arguably unfair and still be legal. For instance, it is perfectly legal to terminate someone due to a personality conflict, as long as it has nothing to do with race, gender, national origin, religion, age, etc. It is also perfectly legal for a supervisor to terminate an employee because the supervisor feels threatened due to the employee’s superior qualifications and experience.

The other Practice Area links will provide more information as to what types of terminations would be illegal. It is important to keep in mind, however, the vast majority of terminations, while possibly unfair, are not illegal. Generally, a consultation with an experienced employment attorney will assist a client in determining whether a particular termination meets the requirements of the law.