What is wrongful termination?
Wrongful termination is the termination of an employee without just cause. Wrongful termination is illegal in the state of Virginia. Wrongful termination actions can be pursued if an employee is terminated without legal cause. However, in all states (including Virginia), private-sector employees are considered “at-will” employees. “At-will” employees can be fired at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all, making wrongful termination seem like an impossible case.
Fortunately, there are exceptions to the “at-will” sector, and our lawyers are here to help in wrongful termination cases.
Exceptions to the “at-will” sector:
Discriminatory reasons. It is illegal for employers to fire employees based on race, color, sex, origin, marital status, religion, age, pregnancy, or genetic information. If an employee feels his employer has committed wrongful termination due to discrimination, the employer may be sued for wrongful termination.
Violation of employment contract. Contracts are legally binding documents that cannot be broken. If an employee has signed a contract promising job security the employee is no longer considered “at-will”, and the employer must adhere to all contract guidelines. If the employer chooses to fire an employee without good cause, this is a breach of contract and considered wrongful termination.
Exercising employee rights. Employees are entitled to take sick, personal, or family leave. If the employer refuses to let the employee take this leave or does not allow the employee to come back to work after taking leave, this is wrongful termination.
Refusing to perform an illegal action. An employee can not be asked to commit anything illegal. If an employee is fired for not committing illegal action upon request, they have been wrongfully terminated.
When is a lawsuit appropriate for wrongful termination?
In all the above cases, wrongful termination can end in a civil lawsuit filed against the employer. If an employee has feelings of wrongful termination, the first step is to contact a Virginia employment lawyer immediately. With the help of a lawyer, an employee can file a lawsuit, get their job back, and assert legal rights.
When facing wrongful termination in the state of Virginia it is important to seek legal counsel.
If you feel you have been wrongfully terminated, FIDE Law is accepting new clients. Please call or contact our office so one of our representatives can help you with your case.
I was forced to leave work because I was unable to wear a mask when the mask mandate was put in place, and now my employer says that since I have been out of work for 1 year they are going to terminate my employment.
I was terminated for using a nickname when expressing sorrow of the death of a coworker. I was told this was a HIPPA violation. Countless number of coworkers have posted on social media when an employee in our origination. When l was ask what this person died from l expressed ” it wasn’t COVID,possibly cardiac” Another Coworker commented l was wrong it was COVID. 26 coworkers a few that where in management commented on this post, none of which where terminated.
That is horrible. I am so sorry Sharon!
I was just terminated while I was in the Emergency room with a fever. I worked in a medical office where patients who had been in contact with positive Covid cases and people who have traveled abroad were never asked to use PPE. I was only informed after these patients left that they had been around positive cases and traveled out of the country. As of today I started with a fever. I left my office manager know and told her I was going to go get tested for Covid. WHILE I WAS AT THE ER the Doctor I worked for texted me that I was fired. Ive missed 2 days of work in my whole time there and both those days i had a Doctor’s note. I was literally just fired because i have a fever.
I believe I was wrongfully terminated if someone could contact me to see if I got a case I’d appreciate it
I worked for Maximus. and I was told to correct my hours 8.0hours to 7.8 when I was working 9 am to 530 the manager said adjust my hours later that evening I was made aware of a termination by the employer I was treated unfairly the next day I was told I have did as I was told accepted the 7.8 and I may have still have I job
As I am reading I was under a contact who did a breach is my question under Virginia law
I need to Speak with someone about wrongful termination
Regina, me too. I’m about to contact them. My friend told me about this, so I’m going to give It a shot. I was about to cut my loss but not I’m about to fight because I have a right too. And I believe I have a strong case. But I don’t want the job back because working for those idiots will be the last thing I do. Lol
Calling them idiots is justifiable because 1. How are going to contact me Monday and Tuesday and not pay me ? 2. Go through the trouble to get account unlocked just to deactivate it on training day. 3. And just not respond with closure. Just unprofessional and an unpleasant experience. My prior team was amazing. But this new team I was transferred too was bad and does not care about retaining talent or taking a stand for their employees. I love a manager who cares about their team. Like the other sight but the new sight obviously doesn’t care. My situation is so complicated. I think I can legally and safely say I was laid off. ..because the other sight didn’t officially fire me and we didn’t go far so idk
Major typos 😑 wom wom. I care wish there was an edit button. I’m just going to leave it because who really checks these?
I would like to speak to someone about a wrongful termination on January the 19th 2023
I was told my status was changed from part time to substitute to cut back on payroll. I have learned the hours were given to others and new hires have happened. I was a loyal employee but I know my supervisor didn’t like me.
Yeah that’s illegal! What’s wrong with people? They should know lying on the time sheet is unethical and employees are to be paid time actually worked regardless of shift. They tried it and then fired you for taking a stand. How inappropriate? They should be retained and or fired.
Can an employee be fired for a negative review someone else left I knew?
I emailed my employer’s HR this morning (10am) to report harassment from my immediate supervisor. This afternoon, 30 minutes after I clocked in, my supervisor (with a witness) had me report to his office, where he fired me. Is this a wrongful termination?
i know this is old comment but i have to let it be known to others reading that most definitely,YES! that is wrongful termination,
that is called “retaliation”
and it is very illegal to do…
if I was you and in your situation I would definitely be contacting a wrongful termination lawyer.
I was with a company in one region for one year before a lay-off notice with an option to transfer to another branch region location. I signed the contract to transfer and all started off well. Until a payed tech check day Friday with first day of training the following Wednessay. Unfortunately wit the transfer my email was blocked so the trainer had to send a request to unlock my email. On Tuesday the trainer contacted me to get account set up since email was unblocked. I was unavailable. But showed up Wednesday on my scheduled day. And was placed in an alternate tech check class only to be kicked out because I wasn’t on the roaster. I have messages and emails up until a week after the incident. No one was willing to help or get in contact with the hiring manager or recruiter or trainer and eventually they stopped responding. I stil have their equipment. And have not heard anything but today I recieved a cobra letter in the mail. Because I was ready and willing to work on my scheduled day and they were trying to get me to work unpaid on my days off and then assumed I did not want to work so permanently deactivated my email, and I have proof that Wednesday I was able to sign in prior to being dropped from class..after going through all the hoops to transfer and then they let me go without warning or a follow up? Of course I’m on unemployment but this is wrong on so many levels.
I need a lawyer consult regarding ongoing intimidation, aggressions and assaults in the workplace. Retribution for advising HR.
I was recently terminated for having a conversation that included a comment that an individual considered inappropriate. I considered this a simple misunderstanding but was terminated in less than 24 hours.
My husband was fired from hid job In August because I brought home covid from working in the ED and then he contracted it. They called it job abandonment. Can we sue?
I work at a jail. The employee demographics of race are 1 sided with the majority of workers being white. The command staff is majority white with only 2 black captains and 0 Hispanics. Why is it that if a white and minority individual get in trouble for the same thing, the minority gets the more harsh punishment, shouldn’t the punishment be the same? I have been suspended without cause, all they told me was that I was suspended without pay pending investigation. They would not give me a reason and stated they don’t have too. I do feel I am being discriminated against and treated differently because I am hispanic. I need help.
Because white people are the majority there and a handful of them are unfair and prejudice due to their poor upbringing and It is not right and is against the law but sadly it is a corrupt society and like a Ill brotherhood sorry for your experience and I hope you anonymously report them to the ethics line if your safety is at risk and they will retaliate.
I wish to retail your firm in an employment case I have with my employer and to recovery of my payoff.
I have a mild intellectual disabity, which i made my employer (a well-known fast food restaurant) aware of upon interview. In spite of that, i got GREAT performance reviews and was always told how everyone loves having me on the team. After clocking out one day, I was called into the office and was let go. I was really caught off guard. I loved this job! The owner, after me requesting a meeting and pleading for my job back, finally told me ‘somebody said i said something and they didnt want it to escalate.’ I couldnt defend myself because he wouldnt say what was said or who said it. Im pretty shy and respectful of others and i KNOW i didnt say anything out of the way. I feel like someone said that because im different.
Sounds like bad management to me and a upsetting situation to be in. You sound like someone who cares about your work and the others sound like mean high school bullies in the work place. What ever happened to 3 write ups and your out with the 1st incident being documented with a meeting? I’m sorry that happened to you. I hope you can find another place of employment and maybe get a letter of recommendation from someone above who you spoke to if possible. Management is unprofessional if they can’t give you a valid reason just outrageous. You atleast deserve to know what was said so you can correct yourself. Unless they just made it up. Smh
i was fired for insubordination do to a nurse asking a cna to give a morphine shot . no investigation . the nurse is still there
Hello I got sick went to the hospital called my boss and when I was discharged from the hospital I was fired and I got my Dr note.
I’m sorry. It is so sad how these companies care less about a doctors note these days. You have to have a FMLA or an approved medical leave or something to even be protected. Or else not showing up will be considered a call out and count towards attendance. Which a great employer will have polices in place and not just escalate to termination. Sorry that happened to you and I hope things work out.
My now former employer had a contract with another company which they hired me for the only position.Working onsite,I was 1) isolated from other people including those that I was supposed to be supporting; (the purpose of my job); 2) constantly being lied on and berated by the representative of the company that we had the contract with, among other issues. I reported this almost daily and was pretty much told to deal with it because they have a contract and they want to be able to expand it to other locations. It was a very hostile environment that made me, eventually, tell my employer that I could not tolerate it any longer but that, because it took them months to find someone for the position and out of respect for them, I would stay until I found another position that wouldn’t leave me in a financial bind. We agreed to this verbally and in writing. After this, I had a meeting (I recorded it) with the same rep of that company and the next thing I know, I was being let go because that individual said that I used profanity toward her during the meeting which I did not. I have audio and written documentation of conversations and meetings that took place where I was told by that rep to do something different from what my company said. If I did what my company expected, I was retaliated against by the rep. It was a big ball of confusion that became too much for any rational person to deal with only to have my former employer to tell me that I needed to take care of myself and seek help.
Oh no! Sounds like a toxic work environment that you were hired into. It is insane what is considered automatically terminated vs. What slides. And since you have proof you didn’t use profanity toward the coworker it was not right that you got fired because of that. It is wrong. And although a hostile environment is prohibited and yelling and harassment and jokes or what you described is to be managed and handled effectively…Sadly people don’t know how to handle reality situations not like reality TV. What I mean is you were treated unfair and the situation should have been handled differently. I hope your matter is resolved because that is messed up!
I have to be out 8 weeks for a surgery. I was just hired in Virginia and I was told when I come back I won’t have a job . Can they do this
I work for a contractor for glofiber and I was fired from for glofiber bc the guy at glofiber was tired about the qc guy bring complaints about me can the guy tell the contractor who he wants and who he doesn’t
I was threatened that I would be fired if I came 5 min late because someone screenshot a Instagram message I never wrote. Now I’m stressed every day that I might be fired at any moment.
I was hired with the understanding that I have a felony 30 years ago. I was hired on two separate locations, and was accused of committing illegal acts, never being substantiated.and Further I was told by my supervisor and quote ” Let’s be real, Jah-lil. You’re a big black man with tattooo’s and a prison record, you shouldn’t talk to women at all”
My girlfriend has been working for a company for over 4 years they already treat her bad as it is and she had a family emergency come up and had to file for a emergency leave and was approved when she returned to work she could not clock in and they told her they would fix it after a week of no change she called HR and learned that she had been terminated in the system for job abandonment even tho she had been approved for the emergency leave now she is having trouble getting her pay check because of all this now they have changed her pay from direct deposit to to a card and the card will take up to 10 days to receive so now she is unable to pay her bills on time and get the things she needs for her and her kids am I wrong for believing there has to be something she can do about this?
I was wrongfully terminated over the phone, as an exemplary employee, never written up, or received any disciplinary actions, for hear say. Please advise.
I have questions about wrongful termination and violation of the Americans with Disabilities act.
I have been having medical issues and had several medical appointments. My Dr believes I have Potts which is covered under the Americans with Disabilities act. My Dr said it is unsafe for me to drive and recommended I work from home, while going through the diagnosis process, and gave me a note for work. My job is computer based and telework is possible. My job then fired me for “asking for too many accommodations”.
I will now lose my medical benifits which will negative impact my ability to receive treatment.
Is it legal for them to fire me for asking for accommodations that my Dr recommended? Even with a note from the Dr? This is in VA.
I was terminated without warning due to the company siting a decline in confidence in my leadership abilities after being out for breast reconstruction surgery after a cancer diagnosis and bilateral mastectomy. I was only out for 2 weeks and could have stretched it to the 6 recommended. My work output did not diminish because I put in the time during recovery to make sure my team was supported. Do I have a case or can they terminate just because I had to have surgery and they fear my cancer (which is technically gone right now. no signs of anything after the surgeries)?
I feel I was wrongfully terminated just because my office manager wanted me out!!! I want my job back this was so wrong!!! Can anyone help me?