Losing your job can be a traumatic experience, especially when you don’t deserve it. It could be humiliating and stressful if you were laid off from your job, even for company-wide cuts. Everything can seem overwhelming without a consistent paycheck to pay bills, feed, and care for your family. However, it’s even worse when an employer lays off a worker for a reason that violates Pennsylvania employment law. In such a case, a wrongful termination lawyer can assist you in filing a claim.

Knowing your rights is key to receiving compensation. The best wrongful termination lawyers can help you win the damages you deserve. However, you must first understand what is considered wrongful termination and how wrongful termination lawyers in Pittsburgh, PA, can help you.

Unlawful Reasons for Termination

An employer cannot legally fire anyone for breaching employment contracts or violating the law. However, there are many reasons why you can file a wrongful termination claim after your employer fires you. They include the following:

Employment Contract Violation

Suppose you have a written employment contract or other statements with your employer that offer job security and other employee benefits. In that case, you can argue that you’re not subject to the at-will employment law rule. It’s even better if your contract clearly states why you may be fired, and you were wrongfully terminated for none of these reasons.

There are many forms that a contract can take. For example, it could be an offer letter detailing the terms of your employment. Sometimes, promises are written, while others are implied. In addition, some things the court looks at when you file a wrongful termination lawsuit are how long you were employed and if you had a history of positive performance reviews.

Acting In Bad Faith

If your employer’s actions were unfair to the public eye, you have a wrongful termination case for a breach of duty of fair dealings and good faith. Some scenarios where an employer acted in bad faith include:

• Making up reasons for firing a worker when the real motivation is hiring someone they can pay less
• Transferring employees to remote or undesirable locations with the intent of making them quit
• Terminating employees with the intent to stop them from earning their sales commission
• Misleading employees with promises of salary hikes and promotion
• An unclear description of the job

Violation of Public Policies

Employers cannot violate public policies when terminating a worker’s employment. For example, you can’t fire an employer for taking time off to vote or to serve jury duty. You also can’t fire a person for taking time off to serve in the military or blowing the whistle on illegal and harmful activities.

Some employers terminate a worker’s employment because they filed a workers’ compensation claim for injuries sustained on the job. However, if an employee also reported safety violations at work to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the employer terminates their employment, it is illegal firing.

Discrimination-Based Termination

Discriminating against an employee because of their color, religion, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender is illegal in Pennsylvania. Suppose your employer fires you for discriminatory reasons. In that case, it goes against wrongful termination law, and you can file a complaint with a federal agency before filing a wrongful termination case against your employer.

Retaliation and Whistleblowing

Pennsylvania employment law also prohibits employers from retaliating against employers who engage in certain activities protected under the employment laws. One of those activities is when an employee files a complaint with a federal or state agency against an employer regarding a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, or discrimination at the workplace.

Fraudulent Activities

In some cases, an employer’s actions rise to the level of fraud, and they fire an employee. This is common in cases where the recruiter makes false promises to the employee. To prove fraud, you need evidence that the employer wrongfully represented the job to mislead you.

Proving an employer intentionally committed fraud can be difficult on your own; that’s why you should hire wrongful termination attorneys. Our PA wrongful termination lawyers can help you prove that you relied on your employer’s representation of the job and that your belief harmed you financially.

Defamatory Reasons

Defamation is a serious issue and usually has long-term consequences for employees who are victims. Employers sometimes make statements that cause doubt about an employee’s ability to work or their integrity. In some cases, you can file a defamation lawsuit with the help of a wrongful termination lawyer.

To prove wrongful termination and defamation, you need to prove that your employer made a false and misleading statement about you and knew it was false when they made it. Additionally, they must have repeated that statement, verbally or otherwise, to someone else, harming you in the process.

Why Do You Need a Wrongful Termination Lawyer?

If you were wrongfully terminated from your job, you need wrongful termination lawyers on your side. Employment lawyers have extensive knowledge of federal and state laws that protect employees against their employers’ illegal actions. Therefore, they can help you file a claim to recover damages.

Succeeding in filing a claim without the help of an experienced employment lawyer can be difficult. In addition to a thorough knowledge of laws and court procedures, your wrongful termination lawyer knows the right information to gather, like witness statements and documents, to prove your claim. They’ll also prevent your employer and attorneys from using unfair tactics and strategies in the courtroom.

A Pittsburgh Wrongful Termination Lawyer Can Help You

If you received a termination at the workplace and believe it violated the law, you need legal professionals to protect your rights. Our termination lawyers in Pittsburgh, PA, can review the terms of your employment to determine if there were violations of the contract or implied promises of continued employment based on your employer’s statements or policy manuals.

We understand the wrongful damages that termination can result in and will ensure you receive maximum compensation for these damages. In addition, we have extensive experience dealing with wrongful termination cases. Therefore, we can easily recognize if your termination violated federal and state laws. Contact our Pittsburgh-based law firm today for a free consultation.