Wrongful Termination

Lax & Neville LLP represents employees who have been terminated for unlawful reasons. Most employment relationships are “at will,” meaning that an employer is permitted to terminate employment, with or without cause, at any time. There are, however, instances an employer’s termination of an employee’s employment is unlawful. For example, federal and New York State and City laws prohibit employers from terminating an employee on the basis of age, sex or gender, race, national origin, disability or perceived disability, pregnancy status, marital status, or sexual orientation or for any other reason that violates public policy. A wrongful termination action can also be filed if an employment contract, either written or implied, prohibits the employer from firing the employee without cause in breach of the terms of the contract.

In wrongful termination cases, the employers may be motivated to terminate an employee in order to take the compensation, bonus, promotion or other benefits that are rightfully due to the employee. In some instances, employers terminate the employment of its employee to unfairly or unlawfully blame the employee for wrongful conduct that is the fault of the firm, not the employee.

If an employer terminates an employee for any discriminatory basis, the employee may be entitled to loss of income and business and other compensatory damages. In addition, if an employer terminates your employment in breach of the terms of the contract, you may be entitled to monetary damages. Furthermore, under the Dodd-Frank Act and the False Claims Act, employers are prohibited from retaliating against whistleblowers and cannot fire, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or otherwise discriminate against a whistleblower.

A wrongful termination claim may be based on:

• Termination motivated by discrimination
• Breach of express or implied employment contract
• Whistleblowing and retaliation for reporting a violation
• Termination to deprive employee of earned compensation, bonus or other employment benefits
• Termination due to a hostile work environment

If you believe you have been fired for reasons that may constitute employment discrimination, a breach of contract or other questionable or unlawful reasons, please contact the attorneys of Lax & Neville LLP for a free consultation.