Wrongful Termination - Information

What is wrongful termination?

A situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in circumstances where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of employment, or a statute provision in employment law. It follows that the scope for wrongful termination varies according to the terms of the employment contract, and varies by jurisdiction. Note that the absence of a formal contract of employment does not preclude wrongful termination in jurisdictions in which a de facto contract is taken to exist by virtue of the employment relationship.

Examples of Wrongful Termination:
• dismissal without going through a contractually mandated dismissal process, which might involve an escalating series of warning letters, where grounds for dismissal are not such as to meet the test for summary dismissal.
• dismissal for a wrongful cause, for instance in a circumstance in which a dismissible action is falsely attributed to an employee.
• racial, sexual, or age discrimination
• retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim or for reporting illegal employer activity (a.k.a. whistleblowing).

If you feel you have been wrongfully terminated, contact an attorney as soon as possible.