New York City Wrongful or Retalitory Termination

What constitutes wrongful termination? Contact the New York City employment law firm of Akin & Smith for help. They can assist you in understanding wrongful termination law and are experienced in mediation and litigation that protect employee rights.
In an “at-will” employment environment, employers are permitted to fire employees for almost any reason or for no reason at all, as long as the firing does not violate the law or public policy.

However, businesses that are subject to anti-discrimination laws are prohibited from firing employees on the basis of race, age, sex or some other protected category. An employee can show his or her firing was wrongful if it violated state or federal prohibitions against firing an employee for a discriminatory reason or if the firing was in retaliation for the employee reporting the employer to state or federal officials in certain protected circumstances.

Federal, New York State and New York City laws protect workers from being terminated or treated unfairly on the basis of race or color, ethnicity, gender, religion, age or disability. If you believe you have lost your job outright based on any of these factors, you should consider consulting with a wrongful termination attorney to evaluate your rights given the circumstances of your case.
Wrongful termination laws protect employees should they report harassment or discriminatory treatment in the workplace. Federal and state whistleblower laws protect employees from retaliatory firing if they report the employer’s allegedly illegal activities to the appropriate state or federal agency.
In many cases, employers are not permitted to fire employees who have complained to the appropriate regulatory agencies about wage or working condition issues and employers are prohibited from firing employees because they filed workers’ compensation claims.

In rare cases, employees who resign can still bring a wrongful termination suit if the employee can show that no reasonable person would have remained in the job under the allegedly terrible conditions that existed and that the employee tried and failed to get the employer to remedy the situation.

Employees who can prove wrongful or retaliatory termination may be entitled to back wages, fines or punitive damages. If you feel you have been a victim of improper or illegal termination, contact the New York City attorneys at Akin & Smith to schedule an initial consultation to discuss the potential claim for wrongful termination lawsuit.