Q: I worked for my employer for many years. I believe I did an excellent job. I was discharged for something that was not my fault. I feel I was treated extremely unfairly by my employer. Does the law give me any protection?

A: In the vast majority of cases, the law provides no protection to employees who have been treated unfairly by their employer. This comes as a shock to most people, especially when they have read about someone bringing a successful lawsuit against an employer.

Generally, the law provides protection to people who are discharged from or forced to leave their job under the following circumstances:

a) If the employee was forced to leave the employment due to race, religion, political belief, national origin or due to sex harassment;

b) When the employee had an employment contract which prevents discharge without “just cause”;

c) If the employee is discharged or forced to leave the job due to some issue that is not permissible. For example, a bus mechanic who is discharged for refusing to put a bus upon the road with defective brakes;

d) If the employee has a contract for a definite period of time and the employee is discharged before that time has expired;

e) If the employee was discharged or harassed because he or she threatened to or actually did report improper employer conduct to authorities.

Most wrongful discharge cases are taken on a contingency basis. This means that the lawyer does not get paid if there is no recovery. If there is a recovery,
the attorney receives a percentage of the recovery for the fee.

Q: My employer failed to offer me an accommodation due to a handicap and I was therefore discharged. I may not have been rehired because my employer wants a young workforce. What are my remedies?

A: These are very complicated areas of the law. You should consult with an attorney experienced in this area if you feel that you were wrongly treated by an employer or prospective employer due to a handicap or age issue. Many times, you can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and have the government look into the situation. The government can sometimes work out a remedy. If the government does not solve the situation, you have a very limited amount of time to file a lawsuit after being notified that the government is not going to pursue the matter further. In all employment cases, the sooner that you see the lawyer, the better.