While wrongful termination laws vary from one state to the next, no matter where you live, you should become familiar with how you should be treated at your place of employment.
Over the years, many employees in the state of Florida have sued their employer for wrongful termination. While some have been successful, others have fallen short for one reason or another.
According the Cornell University Law School, wrongful termination is defined as “a fired employee’s claim that the firing breached an employment contract or some public law.”
If the basis for the lawsuit is a public law, the employee must be able to prove unlawful action, which can include but is not limited to whistleblowing or discrimination due to race, religion, sex or a number of other reasons.
For example, the D.C. Court of Appeals allowed in Adams v. George W. Cochran & Co. 597 A.2d 28 (D.C. App. 1991) to proceed as the employee was fired by the company due to a refusal to break the law.
Wrongful termination is known as many other terms, including wrongful firing, wrongful discharge, wrongful dismissal, illegal termination, illegal discharge and illegal dismissal.
Regardless of what it is called, there is no place for wrongful termination in today’s world. When somebody takes a job, he or she expects to be treated within the limits of the law. In the event that a worker is terminated in a manner that is not consistent with the law in his or her state, filing a lawsuit against his or her employer is a possibility that is often considered.
Source: Cornell University Law School, “Wrongful termination” Aug. 20, 2014
