WHAT IS LEGALLY ACTIONABLE "WRONGFUL DISCHARGE" OR "WRONGFUL TERMINATION"?
New York and New Jersey Wrongful Termination Lawyers
Good, hardworking and dedicated employees are often fired for no good reason. For example, it is much too common that long term employees are laid off because their salaries are too high, top performers are fired because they are unfairly blamed for someone else's mistakes, and dedicated employees lose their jobs as the result of office politics. However, while these decisions might be completely unfair, they are not necessarily legally actionable.
That is because both New York and New Jersey are what is known as "employment at will" states. Employment at will is the general rule that unless you have an individual employment contract, a group employment contract such as a Collective Bargaining Agreement, or a legal entitlement to your job such as tenured or civil service positions, then your company can fire you for any reason, or even for no reason at all. For example, it is generally legal to fire someone based on nepotism or favoritism, as long as the decision was not based on illegal discrimination or another unlawful reason. That is the cold hard reality of the workplace.
Fortunately, there are many exceptions to employment at will. For example, it is illegal discrimination if your company fired you because of your gender, race, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, or sexual orientation. In many instances, it can also be unlawful for an employer to fire you in retaliation for raising objections or complaints about illegal or other improper activities, or for exercising your legal rights. Likewise, depending on the circumstances it can be illegal if your employer fires because you took a family leave or medical leave, or because your company refused to provide a reasonable accommodation for your disability. In New Jersey, it is even illegal to fire someone if the firing violates a clear mandate of New Jersey's public policy.
There are many different laws that protect employees from being wrongfully discharged. These are just a few examples of reasons that could be an actionable. For more information about your legal rights, please contact an employment attorney at Resnick & Nirenberg online, or call us at (973) 781-1204 to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced employment lawyers. We have offices in Morris County, New Jersey and New York City.
