Wrongful Discharge
At-will's Big Exception
Under the employment at-will doctrine, an employer can discharge employees for any reason, even bad reasons, except for unlawful reasons. Wrongful discharges are those exceptions. When terminations violate the rights of employees, they are wrongful.
Why Wrongful Discharge Matters
Courts can remedy the harm caused by a discharge if the employee proves the dishcarge violated his or her rights. Remedies can include payment for lost wages and benefits, as well as for emotional pain and suffering. But if employees cannot prove that their discharge violated their rights, courts have no power to remedy the harm.
Discharges that Violate Employee Rights
Discharges can violate the rights of employees if they:
- are motivated by unlawful reasons, like discrimination or retaliation;
- violate a contractual right of the employee; or
- jeopardize established public policies.
A discharges jeopardizes established public policy of a state when, for example, the state has a policy requiring citizens to serve on a jury when called, and an employer fires an employee for missing work due to jury service.
MEL discusses unlawful discharges in greater detail under the topics of Contracts, Discrimination, FMLA, Harassment, Retaliation and Public Policy Discharges.
Discharges can be Wrong but not Unlawful
If the word "wrong" means the opposite of "right," then some wrong discharges, even though wrong, do not violate employees' rights. For example, until 1964, it was wrong, but not unlawful, for employers in most states to discriminate against employees based on faith, gender or race. Even now it is wrong, but arguably not unlawful, for private employers to discriminate on such grounds in the state of Ohio, as long as they have three or fewer employees. See Leininger v. Pioneer Nat'l Latex, 115 Ohio St. 3d 311 (Ohio 2007), discussed here.
The difference between Wrongful Discharge and Constructive Discharges
Legally speaking, a wrongful discharge is a discharge that violates the rights of an employee. This implies that an employer made the decision to discharge the employee.
Constructive discharge describes a decision made by an employee to quit or resign from employment. A freely made, voluntary quit is usually not a wrongful discharge because it is not a discharge. The employee resigned. However, the law can treat an otherwise voluntary quit as a discharge if the employer created working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to quit under those circumstances, especially if the employer intended for the employee to quit. The legal significance of a consturctive discharge, then, is that the separation from employment is treated a discharge by the court, and not a voluntary quit.
Employer actions that can result in constructive disharges may include cut hours, transfers to undesirable shifts or locations or a campaign of harassment aimed at getting the employee to resign.
Once an employee proves a constructive discharge, it is still just a discharge. Like any other wrongful discharge, employees who were forced to quit must still prove that their employer violated their rights by forcing them to quit.
Lawyer Matches (74)
Adams, William
Focusing primarily in the areas of wrongful discharge, discimination, whistle-blower claims.
Morgantown, West Virginia
Graber, Brian
Chicago Employment Law
Chicago, Illinois
Wibbels, Joseph
Fighting for Employee Rights
Louisville, Kentucky
McKinney, Thomas
Experienced NJ Employment Lawyers focusing on Discrimination, Harassment, Overtime & Severance
Morristown, New Jersey
Klingler, Robert A.
Cincinnati Employement Attorney
Cincinnati, Ohio
Leah, Scott
Employment law attorney representing both employers and employees in all areas of employment law
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Selby, Richard N.
Aggressive. Creative. Successful.
Painesville, Ohio
Tsintolas, Suzanne
Experienced Employment Lawyer in DC & Maryland
Washington, District of Columbia
Kaufman, Matthew A.
Wrongful Termination Attorney Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Azadian, George
Azadian Law Group, PC
Los Angeles, California
Wagner, Lindsey
Employment Attorney
Jupiter, Florida
Custis, Keith
FREE Consultation with a Los Angeles Employment Lawyer
Los Angeles, California
Rapaport, Marc
New York Employment Lawyer
New York, New York
A J Davies, Sebastian
Employment Attorney in the Los Angeles Area
San Marino, California
Kim, Briana
Briana M. Kim
Long Beach, California
Bernick, Kathy
Employment Law
Maria del Rey, California
Kaufman, Matthew
Sherman Oaks, California
Hayber, Richard
Hartford Connecticut Employee Rights Attorney
Hartford, Connecticut
WATTS, NORMAN
Employment discrimination wrongful termination
WOODSTOCK, Vermont
Robaina, Edmundo
We represent employees in employment-related matters.
Phoenix, Arizona
Stafford, Jamaal W.
Serious counsel for serious matters.
Baltimore, Maryland
Balaban, Michael
Las Vegas, Nevada
Hollander, Eugene
Aggressive Chicago Area Personal Injury Attorneys
Chicago, Illinois
Hayber, Richard
Attorney Advertisment
Hartford, Connecticut
Mathew, Abraham
Fighting for Employee Rights in California.
Los Angeles, California
Havens, Betsy
For Respect. For Fairness. For You.
Los Angeles, California
Rutten, Howard
Top Employment and Labor law firm. Wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination and harassment
Studio City, California
Itkin, Arkady
Aggressive and attentive representation in employment, wrongful termination, and injury cases.
San Francisco, California
Sweat, Steven
Employment Law Attorneys Los Angeles CA
Los Angeles, California, United States, California
Cahill, Kathleen
Maryland Employment Attorney
Baltimore, Maryland
Gunter, Jason
Florida Employment Attorney
Fort Myers, Florida
Marcarian, Armond
Marcarian Law Firm, P.C. - Los Angeles employment lawyers
Woodland Hills, California
Katri, Raphael
California Labor & Employment Attorneys - Class Action Lawyers
Beverly Hills, California
gerber, karl
Employment Lawyers Group fights for employee rights helping employees since 1993. Call 8775250700
sherman oaks, California
Jones, Kevin
Employment Lawyer in Kansas City MO - Free Consultation
Liberty, Missouri
Kazazian, Nina
Denver, Colorado
Kazazian, Nina
Free 20-minute telephone consultation
Denver, Colorado
Rager, Jeffrey
Wrongful Termination Attorney Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Hill, Rebecca
Ohio Employment Lawyer
Columbus, Ohio
Mann, Scott
Los Angeles Employment Lawyer
Los Angeles, California
Isaac, Kendall
Employment law attorney helping victims of discrimination retaliation and termination at work
Columbus, Ohio
Dyer, Carrie
Ohio Employment Lawyer
Columbus, Ohio
Azadian, George
Los Angeles Employment & Wrongful Termination Super Lawyers / Millions Recovered / No Cost To You
Los Angeles, California
Mozaffari, Afshin
Los Angeles Employment Lawyer
Los Angeles, California
Mansell, Greg
Employment Attorney Columbus Ohio Wrongful Termination
Columbus, Ohio
Law, P.C, Ricardo Lopez
Los Angeles Employment Lawyer
Long Beach, California
Blit, Matthew
Workplace disputes require trusted employment law attorneys. Count on Levine & Blit, PLLC~
New Yorkk, New York
Sacks, David B.
Employment Lawyer
Jacksonville, Florida
Nosrati, Omid
Los Angeles Employment Lawyer
Los Angeles, California
Miller, Judith
Newton, Massachusetts
Jackson, Marcus
Plaintiff-side Employment Lawyer handling cases throughout Southern California.
Temecula, California
Felahy, Allen
Bringing the fight to the other side for my clients.
Los Angeles, California
Goldner, Harold
Employment Lawyer with almost 40 years of Employment Law Experience in State and Federal Courts
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Tseng, Judy
Wage and Hour Act, sexual harassment, disparate treatment, wrongful termination, discrimination.
Cary, North Carolina
Rose, Joe
Former firefighter-paramedic turned "Super Lawyer" winning great results!
Westlake Village, California
Adams, Christine
Exclusively Practicing Employment Law in California, with Offices in Santa Barbara and San Diego
Santa Barbara, California
Cassata, Dion
Dion Cassata: Attorney at Law.
Boca Raton, Florida
Barasch, Patricia
Employee Rights Advocates
Moorestown, New Jersey
Attardo, Loretta
Salem, Massachusetts
Case, Kristin
Founding Member of The Case Law Firm, LLC., a Chicago-based civil rights employment law firm.
Chicago, Illinois
Mertz, Andrea
Your vigorous advocate pursuing unscrupulous employers.
Wyomissing, Pennsylvania
Hersh, Barry
Dallas, Texas
Allen, George
Experienced Advocate for Employees
Sacramento, California
Herman, Charles
Charles Herman Law - Employment Law Attorney
Savannah, Georgia
Knisbacher, Alden
San Francisco, California
Ezold, Christopher
Passionate advocate of parties in employment matters (noncompetition, discrimination, wages, etc.)
Bala Cynwyd & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Carroll-Haring, Gay
Sacramento, California
Pietrucha, Cynthia
Employment Severance Lawyer
Naperville, Illinois
Gerber, Karl
Successfully Representing California Discrimination Victims Since 1993
Los Angeles, California
Akhavan, Bardia
Full service law firm representing employees and their claims against their employers.
Van Nuys, California
Tojarieh, Joseph
Relentless Legal Representation for California Employees - Free Case Reviews
Los Angeles, California
Perotti, Patrick J.
Aggressive. Creative. Successful.
Painesville, Ohio
Molberg, Ken
Dallas, Texas
Dettling, Rosemary
The Federal Employee Legal Services Center represents federal employees in EEOC and MSPB cases.
Washington, District of Columbia