Wrongful Termination for Exercising My Legal Rights

From voting to jury duty, employers can’t fire employees for exercising their rights

By Andra DelMonico, J.D. | Reviewed by Canaan Suitt, J.D. | Last updated on June 14, 2024 Featuring practical insights from contributing attorney Heather Hardinger

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Getting fired is never a pleasant experience. It becomes even more upsetting when the termination isn’t deserved. When a business decides to terminate employees as a form of retaliation, it can lead to a wrongful termination case. Several federal and state laws protect employees from wrongful termination as a matter of public policy. If you’ve been wrongfully terminated, you have legal rights that can help you seek compensation.

Your Employer Can’t Fire You in Violation of Public Policy

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from workplace discrimination. It makes it illegal for an employer to fire someone based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, religion, or age. This federal law aims to prevent employment discrimination in the workplace. This is why many companies choose to perform layoffs purely based on seniority. It avoids the risk of potentially violating discrimination laws.

Employees are also protected from discriminatory action that would constitute a constructive termination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigates employee-filed complaints of discrimination. An employer cannot retaliate against the employee for a valid claim. This could include acts such as sexual harassment, demotion, or refusal to allow participation in training. “The EEOC’s mission is to eliminate discrimination and investigate and timely resolve discrimination claims,” says Heather Hardinger, an employment litigation attorney at The Meyers Law Firm in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects employees who take leave to care for personal or familial medical conditions. As a matter of public policy, employees should be able to care for themselves and their families without worrying about losing their jobs.

Violation of Public Policy as an Exception to At-Will Employment

Generally, at-will employees can be fired at any time for almost any reason. However, there are exceptions to this. Employers cannot use at-will employment as an excuse to fire employees who report illegal activity or exercise their constitutional civil rights.

As a matter of public policy, protecting employment in these situations is in everyone’s best interest. With 49 of the 50 states allowing at-will employment, protecting employment is essential for ensuring people can exercise their constitutional and other statutorily given rights without fear of losing their employment.

If you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated and it was based on a protected class or retaliation, I highly recommend that you consult a plaintiff’s employment discrimination attorney. The attorney will evaluate your potential claim. I would also suggest that you consult with more than one attorney, if you would like to do so, to find the right fit and confirm the best course of action for your desired outcome.

Heather Hardinger

Employers Can’t Retaliate Against You for Voting

American citizens have a constitutional right to vote in elections. Employers cannot threaten to punish or fire employees for deciding to vote or not vote. This applies to local, state, and national elections.

No federal law requires employers to give employees time off to exercise their right to vote. State laws vary, with 23 states requiring employers to pay employees during that time. The majority of states that require time off require two to three hours. Kentucky requires the most time at four hours, while Alabama and Wyoming only require a minimum of one hour. Several states leave the time given up to the employer’s discretion. Finally, there are 21 states that do not have any laws in place requiring employers to give time off to employees to vote.

Regardless of whether you live in a state that requires time off, your employer cannot punish you for deciding to vote.

Employers Can’t Fire You for Jury Duty

Similar to voting, there is no federal law that requires employers to give employees time off for jury duty or pay them for time spent on jury duty. However, it is a legal obligation for American citizens to respond to and participate in jury duty when summoned. As a matter of public policy, states must protect employees from adverse action when performing this legal duty.

Ten states require employers to pay employees summoned to jury duty, and 18 states prohibit employers from requiring employees to use their personal leave time. Every state has a law preventing employers from punishing or terminating employees for responding to their jury duty summons. This can range between one and five years.

Performing Military Service

An employer cannot discriminate against, punish, or terminate an employee for performing military service. This protection applies to active-duty and reservist military members.

Protections go a step further by safeguarding their positions for the entirety of their service. In addition to securing the same or an equivalent position to return to, a military member cannot be fired without just cause for a specific amount of time after returning.

Exercising Other Civil Rights and Duties

Americans have a constitutional right to free speech and lawful protests. An employer cannot fire an employee for exercising these rights outside of their employment.

However, this comes with limitations. If the employee’s activities disrupt or prevent them from performing their job responsibilities, then the employer can act. The employer must be responding to the decline in work performance and not the employee’s political activities. Additionally, the employer may have clauses that require employees to represent the company in a certain manner. If the employee violates this or rules about criminal activity, they may be subject to discipline or termination.

Refusing to Perform Illegal Actions or Reporting Illegal Actions

An employer cannot force an employee to participate in illegal activity or actions that would violate public policy. It also can’t prevent an employee from reporting the illegal activity performed by others.

This can come in many forms. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protects workers by enforcing workplace safety standards. An employer cannot punish or terminate an employee for filing an OSHA complaint about safety violations that create unsafe working conditions. In addition, the employer cannot punish an employee for filing a workers’ compensation claim if they get injured in an unsafe working environment.

The Department of Labor protects employee rights to fair, safe, and healthy working conditions. An employer cannot retaliate against an employee for reporting a violation of labor laws. This could include illegal pay practices, discrimination, or illegal working hour requirements.

Reporting Illegal Actions

Employees who report illegal activity may be eligible for whistleblower protections. These commonly apply to employees reporting fraud or activity that can harm the general public. To qualify for this protection, the employee must follow certain procedures. They must also make the report in good faith and have a reasonable belief that the activity being reported is actually taking place. If they do so, they are protected from retaliation and termination.

If an employee believes they have been wrongfully terminated, it is important to not wait to speak with an employment lawyer. The statute of limitations for wrongful termination varies between two and four years. However, there are also time limits when filing your wrongful termination claim with state and federal agencies. For example, the statute of limitations for reporting wrongful termination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is 180 days.

First Steps

Often, it isn’t surprising when an employer fires an individual in retaliation. Because of this, it is smart for employees to begin gathering evidence before they are fired. It becomes even more important to collect and retain all documented evidence that can support their wrongful termination claim. This should be done carefully, though. The evidence needs to support the retaliation claim but cannot violate any nondisclosure, trade secret, or proprietary information ownership.

Hardinger speaks to what employees should do if they suspect they are a victim of wrongful termination. “If you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated and it was based on a protected class or retaliation, I highly recommend that you consult a plaintiff’s employment discrimination attorney. The attorney will evaluate your potential claim. I would also suggest that you consult with more than one attorney, if you would like to do so, to find the right fit and confirm the best course of action for your desired outcome.”

Possible Remedies

If you have a successful wrongful discharge claim, several legal remedies are available. If you had an employment contract, you could ask the company to fulfill its duties under the contract. Depending on what state you are in and the circumstances surrounding your claim, you may also be able to ask for lost future wages and employment benefits. Emotional distress, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages are also available in some jurisdictions.

Hardinger explains that there is a broad range of possible remedies, and they vary based on the type of wrongful termination claim the employee files. “Depending on which claim is brought, each one would have a very specific set of potential remedies that are recoverable. In a very generic sense, there could be lost wages, emotional distress damages, liquidated damages, or punitive damage.”

Get Help With a Wrongful Termination Attorney

If you feel that your termination goes against employment protection laws or is retaliatory, then you may have a wrongful termination lawsuit. Speaking with an employment law lawyer will help you analyze your potential case. The attorney will review the facts of your wrongful termination claim and any evidence that you have to support your claim. If you have a potential case, working with a lawyer will help you file your lawsuit and protect your legal rights.

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