Don’t let any Connecticut Employer Bash You for No Reason: Lodge a Wrongful Termination Claim
by Susmita Sen Legal 09 October 2024
Like other states, Connecticut is also an at-will state for employment. Employers reserve the right to fire someone for no reason and without a warning. However, there are certain things an employer cannot do, and that’s when an employee has the right to pursue a wrongful termination claim.
Sadly, people who are fired wrongly don’t understand how to proceed with their claim, and many just accept the outcome at face value. If you think your employer fired you in a manner that violated your rights, you need to connect with a Connecticut wrongful termination attorney as soon as possible. Here’s what you must know about such cases.
Things an Employee Cannot Do
In some cases, the termination of someone’s job is unethical and unlawful. Below is a quick list –
- Employers cannot fire someone because they belong to a class protected by law. For instance, you cannot be fired because you came out as bisexual or belong to a particular race. Discrimination on grounds like age, race, nationality, and color is unlawful.
- Employers cannot fire someone for violating the existing Connecticut and federal laws. You cannot be fired if you have taken time off work according to company norms or as allowed by the FMLA Act. You cannot be fired if you report that your workplace is unsafe or the employer has failed to keep up with health and safety norms.
- Employers are also wrong in terminating an employee’s job in a direct violation of their work contract. In other words, if you are fired, the reason cannot violate the terms and conditions of your contract, and if that happens, you have the right to seek an explanation.
- Another reason why employers cannot fire someone is retaliation. If employees complain about sexual harassment or discrimination, the company cannot fire them for voicing their opinions. The same is true for whistle-blowing activities.
What Should You Do About Wrongful Termination?
First, write down every minute detail concerning your job termination on paper. You may forget certain aspects later, and pursuing a claim requires thoroughness. Keep records of salary changes, emails, letters, texts exchanged with your manager, and performance review reports. Any form of discrimination should be documented, and if you don’t have the employee handbook, it is time to collect it now.
As the next step, meet a wrongful termination attorney based in your city in Connecticut who specializes in employment law and works for employees.
Kinds of Wrongful Termination Claim in Connecticut
In Connecticut, the rule of at-will-employment exists. Hence, you can terminate your employees for any valid reason. However, you can’t pick a reason the law doesn’t support.
You already know the rights and limitations of employers. Now, it’s time to define them. You can lodge a wrongful termination claim when any of the following happens:
1. Discrimination
The Connecticut laws clearly state some conditions employers cannot cite as reasons for discrimination. For example, no employer can fire you for your race, religion, sexuality, orientation, or pregnancy status. There’s more.
Employees have certain leverage in Connecticut. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act says you can apply for medical leave when needed. In this case, some experts argue that companies have policies analogous to this leverage.
The company might take action when employees don’t go by the book and claim to leave abruptly. However, the employees have the right to take leave directly under the act. They can simply cite the act and claim their due leaves.
Whether or not the Connecticut company facilitates leaves for the medical insurgency is redundant here.
2. Contract Breach
you don’t need to stand any case of contract breach in Connecticut. In such cases, there is always a provision to lodge a wrongful termination claim.
A wrongful termination claim may not be only for termination. There are several conditions to be met during the process. Firstly, the termination should not violate the contract terms signed by the employee and the company’s dignitaries.
Secondly, the employee should get enough compensation to go through the career buffer due to the termination. All Connecticut employers must have provisions to compensate employees for the same.
When you find out your company has no such offer, promptly Make a wrongful termination claim.
3. Retaliation
Your organization cannot detest actions like displays of public distrust in government or wearing a black armband in protest or opposition to any marred social event. Moreover, there are acute laws that validate such moral ethics in Connecticut.
Experts say that there are other forms of retaliation, too. For example, you find out a colleague of yours is sacked due to racism. You have all the right to despise the event and raise your voice.
Meanwhile, the company has no right to hate such actions. Instead, the company should accommodate inquiries to investigate such actions on their part and take action.
4. Public Policy Infringement
Is your company violating public policies? Maybe they’re into some Ex-Im scam or scamming customers by selling fraudulent goods? When anything happens, you can resent and raise your voice steeply.
And in no condition can your Connecticut company terminate you for doing that. Just raise a wrongful termination claim against your employer when your employer does that. The legal council will take care of the rest of the deliverables in this regard.
Meeting a Wrongful Termination Attorney
When you go for the initial consultation while filing a wrongful termination claim, expect to get a lot of questions. An employment lawyer will listen to your concerns and the entire timeline of events, and based on the evidence you have, they will want to know more about the wrongful termination case.
You can also use this window to know the attorney better and evaluate whether their work and experience are relevant to your needs.
Discussing the possibilities is no harm; it is best to be clear about your expectations. What are you expecting from the wrongful termination case? Do you want to get financial compensation? Are you interested in getting your previous position? If your lawyer knows what you want, they will work on the claim accordingly.
There is no one way of fighting a wrongful termination claim. Your lawyer will explore the legal options and explain the pros and cons of each.
Ensure your employment lawyer in Connecticut has a good track report and positive reviews online. More importantly, they shouldn’t have a conflict of interest.
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