Lina Franco Lawyer - What Is Wrongful Termination? (With Examples)

1. WRONGFUL TERMINATION

2. Wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful What is wrongful termination? discharge, is a an idiom and legal phrase, describing situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in circumstances where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of employment, or a statute provision in employment law.

3. Being terminated for any of the items listed below may constitute wrongful termination. • DISCRIMINATION • RETALIATION • CONSTRUCTIvE DISChARGE

4. Discrimination The employer cannot terminate employment because the employee is a certain race, nationality, religion, sex, age, or in some jurisdictions, sexual orientation.

5. The At-will Employment versusWrongful Discharge paradox At-will employees can be fired for “any reason” except: • Public Policy • Implied Contracts • Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

6. voluntary and indefinite for both employees and employers

7. • • • • Promise Statement Company Policy Company’s historical actions

8. whistleblower protection rights aredesigned to: • • encourage employees to halt, report or testify • about employer acts that are illegal or unhealthy, – without fear of employer retaliation.

9. • • Extraordinary change Intolerable working conditions

10. Remedies for wrongful dismissal There are two major remedies for wrongful dismissal - specific performance of the contract (which requires the parties to abide by the contract) or compensation for loss and damage.

11. When an employee sues for wrongful termination, the damages available depend on the employee's legal claims. • Breach of Contract If an employee has a contract limiting the employer's right to end the relationship, the employee can sue for breach of contract if the employer fires the employee in violation of the agreement. For example, if an employee has a two-year contract stating that the employee can be fired only for committing a crime, and the employer fires the employee after only one year for poor performance, the employee has a breach of contract claim. When an employer loses a breach of contract lawsuit, it can be ordered to pay what the employee was entitled to under the contract.

12. Discrimination • An employee who wins a discrimination lawsuit is entitled to these damages, for most types of discrimination: back pay (for the wages the employee lost) front pay (damages for wages lost from the date of the lawsuit judgment until the date the employee is reinstated; if the employee can't be reinstated, these damages might continue until the employee finds new work) the cost of health insurance and other benefits the employee would have received if still employed • • •

13. • • court costs and attorney fees injunctive relief (a court order requiring the employer to take or stop taking certain actions, such as an order to reinstate the employee or stop using discriminatory criteria for deciding whom to lay off) compensatory damages (for emotional distress and pain and suffering), and punitive damages (to punish the employer for wrongdoing). • •

14. Thank you