Wrongful Termination: Opposition as Protected Activity

A variation of wrongful termination occurs when a person is fired because he or she opposed discrimination in the workplace. The anti-retaliation provisions of the employment discrimination laws make it unlawful to discriminate against an individual because he or she has opposed any practice made unlawful under the employment discrimination laws. This protection applies if an individual explicitly or implicitly communicates to his or her employer or other covered entity [there are some minimum limits on the businesses or entities covered] a belief that its activity constitutes a form of employment discrimination that is covered by any of the statutes enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibit retaliation based on opposition to a practice made unlawful by those statutes.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits retaliation based on opposition to "any act or practice made unlawful by this chapter." The referenced chapter of the ADA prohibits not only disability-based employment discrimination, but also disability discrimination in state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and telecommunications. Thus, the ADA prohibits retaliation for opposing not just allegedly discriminatory employment practices but also practices made unlawful by the other titles of the statute.

Some examples of opposition are:

• Threatening to file a charge or other formal complaint alleging discrimination;


• Complaining to anyone about alleged discrimination against oneself or others;


• Refusing to obey an order because of a reasonable belief that it is discriminatory; and


• Requesting reasonable accommodation or religious accommodation.

[Source: EEOC compliance manual]

A person's opposing discrimination constitutes the protected activity, which -- when followed closely by an adverse action, such as wrongful termination, by the employer -- can serve to demonstrate an impermissible causal connection supporting the claim of retaliation by wrongful termination.

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Technorati tags: wrongful dismissal, wrongful discharge, opposition, protected activity, wrongful termination.

Wrongful Termination: What It Is

About Wrongful Termination

"To further understand what legally constitutes wrongful termination, it's important to also note that most states consider employment to be "at will" in legal jargon. In plain English, the Employment at Will Doctrine means that, in the absence of employment contracts stating otherwise, employment is presumed to be voluntary and indefinite for both employees and employers. As an at-will employee, you may quit your job whenever you want, usually without consequence. On the flip side, at-will employers may terminate you whenever they want, usually without consequence."

Read more at Wrongful termination.


Wrongful Termination

Wrongful Termination: Participation as Protected Activity

A variation of wrongful termination occurs when a person is fired because he or she participated in the investigation of discrimination in the workplace. The anti-retaliation provisions of the employment discrimination laws make it unlawful to discriminate against an individual because he or she has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or litigation under:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended;


• the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA);


• the Equal Pay Act (EPA); or


• the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This protection applies to individuals challenging employment discrimination under the statutes enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in EEOC proceedings, in state administrative or court proceedings, as well as in federal court proceedings, and to individuals who testify or otherwise participate in such proceedings.

Participation Is Protected Regardless of Whether the Allegations in the Original Charge Were Valid or Reasonable

The anti-discrimination statutes do not limit or condition in any way the protection against retaliation for participating in the charge process. While the opposition clause [of Title VII] applies only to those who protest practices that they reasonably and in good faith believe are unlawful, the participation clause [of Title VII] applies to all individuals who participate in the statutory complaint process.

Thus, courts have consistently held that a respondent (i.e., the employer) is liable for retaliating against an individual for filing an EEOC charge regardless of the validity or reasonableness of the charge.

To permit an employer to retaliate against a charging party (e.g., an employee) based on the employer's unilateral determination that the charge was unreasonable or otherwise unjustified would chill the rights of all individuals protected by the anti-discrimination statutes.

The Person Claiming Retaliation Need Not Be the Person Who Engaged in Participation

The retaliation provisions of Title VII, the ADEA, the EPA, and the ADA prohibit retaliation against someone so closely related to or associated with the person exercising his or her statutory rights that it would discourage or prevent the person from pursuing those rights.

For example, it would be unlawful for a respondent (i.e., the employer) to retaliate against an employee because his or her spouse, who is also an employee, filed an EEOC charge. Both spouses, in such circumstances, could bring retaliation claims.

The Practices Challenged in Prior or Pending Statutory Proceedings Need Not Have Been Engaged in by the Named Respondent

An individual is protected against retaliation for participation in employment discrimination proceedings even if those proceedings involved a different entity.

For example, a violation would be found if a respondent refused to hire the charging party because it was aware that she filed an EEOC charge against her former employer.

[Source: EEOC compliance manual]

A person's participating in proceedings investigating discrimination constitutes the protected activity, which -- when followed closely by an adverse action, such as wrongful termination, by the employer -- can serve to demonstrate an impermissible causal connection supporting the claim of retaliation by wrongful termination.

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Technorati tags: wrongful dismissal, wrongful discharge, fired, participation, protected activity, employment law, human resources, HR, unlawful termination, wrongful termination.

Wrongful Termination: Opposition as Protected Activity

A variation of wrongful termination occurs when a person is fired because he or she opposed discrimination in the workplace. The anti-retaliation provisions of the employment discrimination laws make it unlawful to discriminate against an individual because he or she has opposed any practice made unlawful under the employment discrimination laws. This protection applies if an individual explicitly or implicitly communicates to his or her employer or other covered entity [there are some minimum limits on the businesses or entities covered] a belief that its activity constitutes a form of employment discrimination that is covered by any of the statutes enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibit retaliation based on opposition to a practice made unlawful by those statutes.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits retaliation based on opposition to "any act or practice made unlawful by this chapter." The referenced chapter of the ADA prohibits not only disability-based employment discrimination, but also disability discrimination in state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and telecommunications. Thus, the ADA prohibits retaliation for opposing not just allegedly discriminatory employment practices but also practices made unlawful by the other titles of the statute.

Some examples of opposition are:

• Threatening to file a charge or other formal complaint alleging discrimination;


• Complaining to anyone about alleged discrimination against oneself or others;


• Refusing to obey an order because of a reasonable belief that it is discriminatory; and


• Requesting reasonable accommodation or religious accommodation.

[Source: EEOC compliance manual]

A person's opposing discrimination constitutes the protected activity, which -- when followed closely by an adverse action, such as wrongful termination, by the employer -- can serve to demonstrate an impermissible causal connection supporting the claim of retaliation by wrongful termination.

--------------

Technorati tags: wrongful dismissal, wrongful discharge, opposition, protected activity, wrongful termination.


wrongful termination

Resources for Wrongful Termination

Wrongful termination is a complex issue, but with some effort you can learn a lot. Here are some resources to gain information about your rights and about employment law issues:

• U.S. Department of Labor - Wages and Hours



• U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Administration - Employee Benefits



• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Discrimination and EEO

Please use these resources to inform yourself further about wrongful termination.

Wrongful Termination: 18 Things a Lawyer May Want to See When You Meet

Wrongful termination occurs when you are fired in a way that violates public policy and may include situations where you were forced to resign (called constructive discharge). If your employer fired you, or asked you to resign, or if you quit because you felt working conditions were intolerable, you may have a case for wrongful discharge.

You need to contact a lawyer and schedule an initial conference with him or her. To make that first meeting as fruitful as possible, you need to provide copies of a number of documents for the lawyer to review.

There is a useful list of 18 things your lawyer may want to review presented at:

     http://employment.findlaw.com/articles/2563.html .

A key item for review is a diary or chronology, or a written journal of events, with dates of important employment problems, any opposition you made to employment policies or practices, any participation you may have had in investigation of any discrimination complaint, meetings, and adverse actions taken against you.

If you kept such a journal, good; make a copy. If not, start recreating the series of events from memory, emails, documents, your calendar, and whatever else can help jog your memory. This is done most easily on a computer, either as a table in Microsoft Word or as a modified spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel. The advantage of using the computer is that when you remember an event that occurred between two events you already have in the table, you can merely insert a new row into the table and fill in the date and details of the event.

Having copies of documentation for your lawyer to review will help him or her determine if you have been the victim of wrongful termination.

Technorati tags: wrongful termination, wrongful discharge, wrongful dismissal.

Wrongful Termination: You need a lawyer -- Now!

Wrongful termination is actionable and the various remedies available are complex. This form of employment termination is also referred to as wrongful dismissal or wrongful discharge.

When your intuition is telling you that you are about to be fired, stall. Stall long enough to contact an attorney. Or, if you already have been fired, contact a lawyer immediately.

You can locate attorneys who practice in the area of wrongful termination through the internet or through your local bar association.

If you think you are about to be fired, try to escape the confrontation until you have spoken with an attorney. Become sick, claim a family emergency, or use whatever other creative reason that occurs to you to leave work.

Yes, it’s that critical that you make immediate contact with a wrongful termination lawyer.

When you contact an attorney, get an immediate appointment to meet with him or her or, at least, a telephone consultation. The attorney can guide you in immediate steps to take and may be able to insert himself or herself between you and your employer. Expect to pay for this initial consultation, but you may receive a pleasant surprise and not be charged for the first consultation.

With a lawyer involved, the employer will be much more cautious and will not be likely to skip over any steps in their disciplinary policy.

If you already have been fired, the lawyer can advise you on what to do if you and he or she suspect wrongful termination.

Technorati tags: wrongful termination, wrongful discharge, wrongful dismissal.