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At-will employees may be fired for any reason and misconduct is one of it. Some companies have a termination policy with details of reasons for which an employee may be terminated. In most cases there is bound to be a legal issue if one is fired for misconduct. Below are a few questions that have been answered regarding termination for misconduct: Some miscreants broke into an employee’s house and hit him/her before making an escape. This employee called the employer and informed that the doors of the house needed to be repaired and so would not be able to attend work that day. The employee also informed the employer that if the doors were repaired in time for the employee to report to work, he/she would call back. The next day the employee was called by the employer and terminated for not calling back the previous day. The employee was terminated on grounds of “no call, no show”. The employee has documentation to prove that the doors and the alarm system were repaired and also has police reports. As per the termination policy, an employee may be terminated if there are three instances of “no call, no show”. However, the employee had called the previous day. What legal recourse does he/she have in such a situation?
It is possible that the employer may be sued for wrongful termination along with breach of contract as it seems that he/she did not follow the terms of the contract. However, the employee would need to prove that a call was made to the employer the previous day, which may be accomplished with the help of the phone records. One may also claim damages in the form of lost wages. An employee was fired in September for misconduct. This person started getting unemployment benefits in December. Can this person file for wrongful termination?
If an employee was terminated due to discrimination based on age, race, national origin, gender, religion, or disability, then it is possible for one to file for wrongful termination. A complaint may be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days. Therefore, as per the above scenario, one may consider filing a complaint. One may visit www.eeoc.gov for further information. A person who is employed in Texas was fired on the grounds of a possible misconduct. There were other employees who also were guilty of making the same mistake. However, some of them were given a step-one disciplinary action and others were let go without any action being taken against them. Nobody else was fired for this mistake. Further, the details mentioned on the termination paperwork were incorrect. What legal action can this person take?
Texas is an at-will employment state where an employee may be fired without providing any reason and at any point of time. However, the company should not have violated either the company policy, employment contract or the employment discrimination law. As per the scenario mentioned above, it appears that there is some kind of disciplinary action policy in place. Also, it seems that the company did not adhere to this policy each time there was an instance of misconduct. Considering this, it is possible for this person to file a wrongful termination case with the help of a local employment lawyer. It is possible that one may be terminated wrongfully when the employee is terminated for misconduct. It is better for one to take assistance of a professional when faced with such a situation. You may ask an employment lawyer if you want to know what action you can take when you are wrongfully terminated for misconduct.
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