What Is Wrongful Termination?
Wrongful termination is a catchall category that refers to any illegal reason for firing an employee, such as:
- Discrimination. It's illegal to fire an employee because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, genetic information, or age (if the employee is at least 40 years old); state and local laws often protect additional characteristics, such as marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
- Retaliation. An employer may not fire an employee because the employee complained of illegal behavior, such as harassment, discrimination, workplace safety concerns, wage and hour violations, and so on.
- Violation of public policy. In many states, it's illegal to fire an employee for reasons that most people would find morally wrong. For example, an employee who is fired for exercising a legal right (such as the right to vote), refusing to commit an illegal act (such as lying to government auditors or mislabeling company products), or reporting wrongdoing (such as accounting fraud) may have this type of legal claim.
In addition, an employee may have a claim for breach of contract. Not all employees work at will. If an employee has a contract agreeing that the employee may be fired only for certain reasons (such as committing financial malfeasance or gross misconduct), the employer may fire the employee only for those reasons. Otherwise, the employee may have a claim for breach of the employment contract.