How to Address a Wrongful Termination
While any employment termination can be upsetting and traumatic, it's even worse when you know you have been wrongfully or illegally terminated and you can prove it. It's important to remain calm and carefully address your strategy, whether it's a lawsuit or a negotiation for a better severance package.
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Instructions
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Address a wrongful termination by remaining calm while you are being fired, even if you know that the termination is based on illegal grounds. By getting in a heated argument with your employers, you risk saying things that might undermine your case later.
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Ask for a copy of your employee file before you leave the premises. If your file is being kept at a different location, such as a regional office or human resources department, ask for copies of the disciplinary action. These documents will be vital if you decide to pursue further legal action against your former company.
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Find out if your company is offering you a severance package as a result of the termination. Avoid declining or accepting the terms of the severance package until you can have a lawyer review the offer. Ask for the severance package to be put down in writing.
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Try to retain all benefits, including stock options, health and dental insurance and retirement plans until the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction. In many cases, your employer will guarantee these benefits to continue during the prescribed length of the severance package.
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Hire a lawyer who specializes in employees' rights when you address your wrongful termination. Have the lawyer review all of the documentation of your case, including any contracts between you and your employer and all disciplinary paperwork. Your lawyer may request copies of all documents in your employee file as well.
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Follow your lawyer's instructions exactly when you address a wrongful lawsuit. Whether you decide to negotiate for a better severance package or proceed with a lawsuit against your former employers, it's important not to have direct contact with any representative of the company without the explicit knowledge of your lawyer.
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Ensure that any negotiation you agree upon is not contingent upon finding new employment. For instance, some companies may try to discontinue payments of a severance package if the former employee finds a new job.
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Tips & Warnings
Some companies may ask you to resign instead of being terminated. Do not accept this condition, since it will seriously restrict any future claims or lawsuits you file against the company.
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Comments
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This happened to me once, by the Coca Cola co., and as a result my Family resented me for a very long time, as a family friend helped me to get this job. According to the EPPA(employee polygraph protection Act of 1988) Some questions on a pre-employment test are illegal, and discriminatory. Polygraph tests are confidential to anyone who doesn't have a direct relationship to the employee as an employer. Some businesses are prohibited from giving pre-employment tests.
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lovly2008
Sep 27, 2008
Usually when people are wrongfully terminated, they really want their job back. This article sounds like if even it is a wrongful termination, the employer wins.
