Not all employees going into a job have the skills to survive the work given to them. An unqualified employee may cause an employer to feel they need to fire them to maintain their business.
But what if you feel that your termination wasn’t related to your ability to do your job? What if you suspect discrimination was at the heart of your dismissal? How can you tell if you were fired because you weren’t suited for the job — or for some unlawful reason? Here are three possibilities:
Wrongful termination often involves discrimination
Race, religion, gender or nationality are all protected under federal and state anti-discrimination laws. This means employees are protected from being fired no matter the color of a person’s skin, the place they were born, what a person was raised to believe or their gender identity.
Employee discrimination extends beyond race, religion, gender or nationality. People who are disabled or don’t fit the right age demographics for a company’s image may be subjected to workplace discrimination because of their differences.
An employee may believe they were discriminated against because an employer commented on how they look or their beliefs. An employee may believe they were required to conform to the workplace and was fired when they protested.
Sexual harassment can be the basis for a wrongful termination
An employee may believe they were conveniently fired just after they experienced or witnessed sexual harassment. Being fired for speaking up against sexual harassment can be seen as a form of retaliation by an employer to protect an employee or the image of a business.
Wrongful termination can involve freezing an employee out
Employers may not immediately fire an employee. Employers may reduce the work of an employee, overwork an employee or create poor performance reports that may push an employee out due to the hostile work environment.
A wrongful termination could make it harder to pay rent, pay off debt and put food on the table. You may need to know your rights if you believe you were wrongfully terminated.