EMPLOYMENT LAW: WRONGFUL DISCHARGE

AND EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Butkovich & Crosthwaite has an experienced attorney prepared to represent employees who have been wrongfully discharged or wrongfully terminated from their employment. While the starting point for the employment relationship is an “at-will employment relationship,” in which an employee can be fired for any reason or for no reason at all, the courts have increasingly recognized exceptions to the “at-will” doctrine, which include public policy exceptions, such as the employer ordered the employee to violate a state or federal law, the employee exercised a lawful right, such as filing a Workers’ Compensation claim, or reported a safety violation to OSHA.

Wrongful discharge or wrongful termination must be based upon a discharge or firing, which can be shown to have violated a public policy or other legally enforceable right of the employee.

For example, if a supervisor and an employee have a personality conflict and the employee is fired, that is not likely to be a wrongful discharge.

Butkovich & Crosthwaite is poised to represent employees, who have suffered employment discrimination, which includes discrimination based upon race, age, gender, pregnancy, hostile work environment, and sexual harassment. Employment discrimination can also take the form of retaliatory discharge, which is the result of an employer taking punitive action against an employee who engages in protected activity, which includes participation in an EEOC investigation or other disclosures to a public agency or law enforcement agency.

There are strict time limits which govern an employee’s rights to take action against an employer. You should consult with an attorney immediately if you believe you have suffered a wrongful discharge or you believe you have been a victim of employment discrimination.