Civil Rights & Constitutional Law
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April 22, 2022
• Practice Areas • Practices • Wrongful Termination
As wrongful-termination lawyers, we receive a lot of calls from people who have been fired. But almost all have no legal right to sue—no matter how unfair and unreasonable their employers have been.
Please read the rest of this before you contact us.
Most states including Ohio are "at-will-employment" states. That means that employers can mistreat and even fire you "at will," that is, for almost any reason—including completely unfair and irrational ones.
Yes, your boss can be completely crazy and there's generally nothing you can do about it.
The few exceptions to "at-will" employment are rare, but carved out in the law. Unless what happened to you provably falls into one of these categories, you probably do not have a case.
Those exceptions to employers' almost total freedom include discrimination based on
Another rare exception includes if you were a whistleblower about certain types of clearly illegal (and not just unfair) conduct. And public employees have certain rights including First Amendment, free-speech protection for speech they engage in in their private-citizen capacities, and not as part of their job duties.
In Ohio and many other states, there's also a challenging claim called "wrongful termination for public policy" where the firing is contrary to certain policies set out in statutes and case law. It's tough to survive, but it can be done in extremely rare cases.
In general though, even if your supervisor is just plain mean and irrational—there's nothing that can be done about that legally. General workplace bullying that doesn't fall into one of the above protected categories? There's just nothing that can be done about it other than finding another job.
Every day, we respectfully decline two-dozen requests for advice and representation because of these harsh legal principles.
State and federal laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provide you with a host of protections designed to help you work in an environment free from discrimination based on race, sex, gender, national origin, and religtion, as well as sexual harassment.
You should also never face any type of retaliation, including wrongful termination, for blowing the whistle on illegal behavior.
We have a broad range of experience in these types of cases, including those involving the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and your ability to freely exercise your First Amendment right to free speech.
We can also counsel you and protect your rights when you have an employee contract with a non-competition agreement. Employers often draft these agreements too broadly to be legally enforceable, but the law can be tricky in this area and careful scrutiny of agreements by lawyers experienced with this area of law is advisable.
Our work has led to our involvement in class-action cases. And in instances where large class actions have fallen apart, attorneys have recommended us to individual clients because of our ability to secure positive results against major corporations, whether at trial or in settlement negotiations.
In these types of cases, there is no substitute for skilled, experienced representation. Our lawyers are ready to help you in your fight for justice.
You can reach our firm, which serves clients throughout Ohio and the nation, by calling 216-578-1700 or by filling out our online contact form.
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