What is a wrongful termination claim?

All Practice Areas

It is not uncommon for a New Jersey resident to lose his or her job. In some cases, individuals are terminated lawfully and in other cases, they are terminated unlawfully. If a wrongful termination has occurred, the terminated employee will have the right to seek claims of monetary damages against his or her employer.

A wrongful termination scenario can come about in a variety of ways. Sometimes, a wrongful termination happens due to a violation of state and/or federal anti-discrimination laws. The wrongful firing might also be related to sexual harassment. For example, an employee might be fired in retaliation for reporting an instance of sexual harassment, and this would be unlawful. The law protects employees who report wrongful behavior committed by their employers — such as discrimination, harassment or illegal activity — from being wrongfully terminated out of retaliation.

In other matters, the employee’s termination could be in violation of a written employment agreement. It could be in violation of one or more labor laws, or the firing might have occurred as a result of the employee making a legal claim or complaint against his or her employer.

In some wrongful termination proceedings, the terminated employee will be able to seek financial damages, like lost wages and other costs resulting from the termination. Terminated employees may also be able to seek severance pay, unemployment compensation, punitive damages and other kinds of damages depending on the case.

By speaking with a qualified employment law attorney about the facts and circumstances surrounding their terminations, New Jersey residents can evaluate whether or not they have viable claims compensation.

Source: FindLaw, “Wrongful Termination Claims,” accessed Oct. 23, 2015