Wrongful termination can make anyone confused, and you may not be sure where to go. Who do you tell? Do you have any rights? Yes, you do have rights. You have the right to review your termination and even contact an attorney if you feel as though your employer broke the law. Here are the steps you need to take if you feel as though you've been wrongfully terminated.
Consult an Attorney
An attorney can help you determine if you were wrongfully terminated, as well as help you decide the proper course of action. An attorney can determine the validity of your case and determine what your recovery may be. Additionally, if you are discriminated against, which led to your termination, a labor law attorney can recover any losses you experienced and represent you in court.
File a Wrongful Termination Suit
Wrongful termination lawsuits are on the rise due to the amount of people who know their rights. The first step you need to take is determining the reason for your wrongful termination. This reason is referred to as the "cause of action," and may be due to discrimination, breach of contract, and retaliatory discharge. Once you determine the cause, you can begin to compile evidence to help your case.
Compile Evidence
The most important aspect of a lawsuit is the evidence you present. Having sufficient evidence establishes the damages you endured during your employment and can help you recover losses. These documents are usually things such as pay stubs and records of hiring/termination. You should also compile statements from persons involved or witness accounts of your wrongful termination. Finally, you need to create your own written account of the events from the beginning of the event to present.
Check with the EEOC
Most employment disputes require you to file your claim with a government administrative agency like Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before approaching an attorney. With the EEOC, you need to submit all of the evidence you've managed to compile about your case. The agency investigates your wrongful termination claim and comes to a conclusion about your rights, damages, and if you deserve to recover anything. If the EEOC determines the case in your favor, you'll receive a remedy for your losses.
However, if the agency does not rule in your favor, you can approach an attorney again to work with you to try the case in court. Seeing an attorney before you approach the EEOC helps you determine what aspects of the case are more important and narrows down what evidence you need to collect. Additionally, should the agency not rule in your favor, you have an attorney who knows about your case and can move to the next step without wasting any time.
