Wrongful Termination Articles
When does a termination become unlawful?
I receive calls all of the time from people who believe that have been wrongfully terminated. Unfortunately, the vast majority people who believe that they have been unlawfully terminated end up discovering that they do not have any legal recourse against their employer.
Pennsylvania is an at-will employment state which means that most employees can be terminated for any reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all except in cases of discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or age. Other than discrimination laws, the only way an employee is protected from being terminated is if they have a contract with the employer that states they can only be terminated “for cause.” Additionally, if the employee is represented by a union, additional procedural safeguards may protect the employee from termination and the employee would gain additional rights through their union’s collective bargaining agreement.
When does …
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What damages are available for a wrongful termination claim?
Most employees are considered at-will employees. Therefore, the employee may be terminated for any reason or no reason at all and the employer does not need to establish that the employee was fired “for cause.” There may still be circumstances when an at-will employee’s termination is wrongful.
Generally, wrongful termination occurs when an employee is terminated and the termination violates an employment contract, was discriminatory, or against public policy. For more information on whether your termination was wrongful visit our employment law page.
If you have been wrongfully terminated, you may be interested in understanding what your remedies are. In other words, what you will be able to recover.
Depending upon the situation, damages available to wrongfully discharged employees can include back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Back pay is the wages you lost from the time you filed your claim until the …
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