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MORE: Wrongful Termination Termination

How to Sue for Wrongful Termination as an At-Will

Employee

Steve Thompson,Yahoo! Contributor Network

Feb 14, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Many states have at-will employment, just as many employers hire staff at-will. Essentially, an at-will

mployee is one who has no formal guarantee of job security, and can be terminated at any time, for

ny reason. This is a major obstacle for employees who wish to file wrongful termination lawsuits,

specially if they have no evidentiary proof that their employers broke the law.

ou do need to know, however, that an at-will employee does have the same rights as any other

orker in the United States. He or she might not have a union representative or a guarantee against

ss of employment, but things like discrimination and retaliation are prohibited by law no matter

here you live. You can sue for wrongful termination in cases where your employer has violated thosews.

f course, this can be difficult in states like Texas, where employers aren't required even to give

easons for dismissal if they so choose. When you aren't told why you were fired as an at-will

mployee, it can be difficult to sue for wrongful termination, and even harder to win in the courtroom

here the burden of proof falls in your lap. Aside from hiring an experienced, competent attorney,

here are a few things you can do to help your case.

Subpoena Performance Reviews

When you sue for wrongful termination, even as an at-will employee, you are entitled to collect

vidence that will promote your position in court. One such piece of evidence is your employee file,hich will contain records of all your performance reviews. Have your attorney subpoena those

ecords to show the judge or jury that you weren't cited for bad behavior during your tenure.

- Assemble Witnesses

is also a good idea to have witnesses when you sue for wrongful termination. Since your evidence is

mited as an at-will employee, witnesses can bolster your case in front of the jury. Let them testify

hat you didn't do anything to deserve termination, or that you were repeatedly discriminated against

r reasons beyond your control. This helps bring the case from a "he-said, she-said" debate to a

erious allegation.

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ederal Judge Rules that Federal Employee May Post Religious

yer

federal judge has ruled that a federal employee with the Defenseogistics Agency in Columbus, Ohio, may legally post a flyer that posts aligious viewpoint on an employee bulletin board it was announced

esterday.

uide on How to Make the Transition from Employee to Self-

mployed

uide On How to Make The Transition From Employee To Self-Employed

uide on How to Write an Employee Manual

rticle on how to write an employee manual

0 Tips on How to Tell If You Really Need to Hire an Employee

0 Tips on How to Tell If You Really Need To Hire an Employee

- Show Patterns

ne of the best ways to win a lawsuit for wrongful termination is to show the judge or jury that your

x-employer has a track record of discrimination or retaliation in firing at-will employees. For

xample, if every employee with children has been subsequently fired, it stands to reason that

iscrimination is involved. Or, if every employee who has ever "blown the whistle" on the employers'

irty dealings has been terminated, this would show retaliation.

- Read the Employee Handbook

ome employers state in their handbooks that employees can only be terminated "for cause", which

means that the employer has a valid reason for letting them go. Read your employee handbook

arefully for this type of language, and if it exists, the employer will have to give the judge or jury a

alid reason for your dismissal. If none exists, you'll be able to win your wrongful termination lawsuit.

Published by Steve Thompson

Steve is a full-time freelance writer. In addition to the more than 3,000 articles he s written for AC, he has also written

articles and other materials for more than 100 happy clients. He enjoys writing abo... View profile

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