How to Protest Being Fired From a Job in Kansas

Workers can sue for wrongful termination.

The law gives employers virtually limitless leeway to fire employees, even for arbitrary reasons. However, there is a narrow class of conditions for which workers cannot be fired. These include discrimination, as an act of sexual harassment, in retaliation for filing legally protected grievances or union activity. Workers in Kansas who believe they've been fired can protest in a number of ways. They can lodge legal complaints or bring suit against their employer.

Instructions

1. Determine whether you have been illegally terminated. Employers cannot fire you for reasons related to religion, race, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, or age. They can't fire you if you file a wage violation complaint, OSHA complaint, or for union organizing activity, protected under collective bargaining law. Firing in retaliation for whistle-blowing is also illegal. Additionally, in Kansas, employers who agree to terminate employees according to the employer's own handbook of rules must abide by those rules.

2. File a complaint with the Kansas Human Rights Commission to protest discriminatory firing.

3. File an OSHA complaint if you believe you have been retaliated against for refusing to work under unlawfully dangerous conditions, or in response to a previous OSHA complaint. Do so within 30 days of the retaliatory or discriminatory act.

4. File a lawsuit for wrongful termination. It's advisable to hire an attorney for this unless you're extremely well-versed in legal procedure and Kansas labor law. Bringing suit against your employer may help you win damages and may even win your job back if the court rules the termination was wrongful.

References

• KHRC: Filing a Complaint
• NOLO: Illegal Reasons for Firing Employees
• Shultz Employment Law: Kansas Wrongful Discharge

Resources

• KHRC: Complaint Form
• OSHA: Complaint