The Connecticut wrongful termination lawyers at Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, P.C. offer personalized attention when you need it most. We have over 40 years of experience successfully helping clients navigate employment law. If you have been mistreated and feel you were wrongfully terminated from your job, we want to help.
It is important to know what wrongful termination is and how you can pursue your rights. If you think you were fired for unlawful reasons, the most important thing to do is seek professional counsel. The Connecticut employment lawyers at Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, P.C. can help.
Connecticut is an At-Will Employment State
If you have just been fired, you know this is an incredibly stressful time. One question that may be on your mind is, “Was my termination legal?” Many people who have been let go feel they were wrongfully terminated. But what is wrongful termination?
Connecticut is an at-will employment state. This means the employer may fire an employee for any reason or no reason at all, so long as it is not an illegal reason. Connecticut recognizes there are circumstances that can make a termination illegal. Those circumstances include:
Discrimination
You cannot be fired from your job because of discrimination. Illegal employment discrimination occurs when you are treated differently than others because of your race, color, religion, age, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or disability.
Discrimination can be subtle and difficult to prove. Consider a woman being fired for something a male employee routinely does, yet is not terminated for. That can be discrimination based on gender.
Retaliation
You cannot be fired from your job because of retaliation. Retaliation is being terminated or punished for speaking out against or refusing to participate in any form of unlawful discrimination, or other unlawful acts. For example, if you see a colleague being harassed or treated differently because of his race and intervene to protect him, you cannot be fired for opposing that discrimination.
Public Policy Violations
You cannot be fired for a reason that violates federal or state public policy. It is illegal to force an employee to choose between breaking the law and losing their job. For instance, if your employer told you to falsify financial statements, and you were fired because you refused to commit fraud, that might be a wrongful termination in violation of public policy.
Breach of Contract
You cannot be fired for a reason that would breach a written or verbal contract. A contract of employment may state the reasons an employee can be fired. If you are fired for a reason other than those included in your contract, that might be a wrongful termination. Generally, in Connecticut, a contract for a fixed period of employment (i.e. six months or one year) can only be terminated for “cause,” whether the contract expressly says so or not.
Sometimes, an employee handbook specifies procedures for discipline and termination. If your termination deviated from that procedure, that might be a wrongful termination, if a waiver was not signed stating the handbook is not a contract.
How Our Connecticut Wrongful Termination Lawyers Can Help
Determining whether you were wrongfully terminated depends on the facts specific to your termination. Every case is different and timing is critically important, so do not wait to seek professional counsel.
At Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, P.C., we have over 40 years of experience litigating wrongful termination cases. Do not wait, contact us now for an evaluation of your claim.
