Do I have a case for wrongful termination/discharge?
I worked for a corporation that is relatively new. From the beginning of employment for a number of reasons I found the business to be a little shady though it is well funded. One of the corporate employees claimed to have a ivy league degree via the website information. I spoke to this employee regarding it inquiring about their experience there in bridge building effort. They seemed a bit shaky, danced around the issue and did not make alot of sense saying it was back in the 70's and they went from an AA degree program into a working executives MBA program with this school. It made me raise an eye brow as I am educated and know the sequence of degrees. I contacted the ivy league school in question requesting the specific degree program and also the individual. I was told there was no such program in the database going back to 1940 and no individual with that unique last name ever attended their facility. I then contacted human resources and spoke to the director about the discrepancy. I was told not to tell anyone until they could check into it. I did not say anything and was fired two days later with no comment given as to why. Do I have a case for wrongful termination?
1 answer | asked Feb 16, 2005 8:32 PM [EST] | applies to Arizona
Answers (1)
Your facts do not suggest a basis for a claim of wrongful discharge. Your employment in the private sector is presumed to be terminable at will, that is, whenever your employer decides to let you go, with or without a good reason. To prove a wrongful discharge, you must show that the reason for the termination violates public policy, which has been rather narrowly defined by our legislature to include only certain things. Your argument would be that you were a "whistleblower," someone who reported unlawful conduct and was fired in retaliation. The problem is that the employee's false claim of having an ivy league degree is not unlawful. Your only hope of claiming wrongful discharge would require proof that publishing this false claim online constituted some form of fraudulent conduct. A person who fraudulently held himself out to be licensed to practice law or medicine, or who falsely claimed expertise in some specific area in order to induce people to use his or her services might be violating consumer fraud laws. But most consumer fraud statutes prohibit particular, narrowly defined kinds of misrepresentations. Falsely claiming to have a degree from a particular school doesn't quite reach the level needed to show consumer fraud. While the employer could have used the employee's lie as a basis to terminate the employee, it chose not to. A violation of an employer's policies is not a matter of interest to the public, so reporting such a violation is not "whistleblowing."
posted by Francis Fanning | Feb 17, 2005 1:57 PM [EST]
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