If you've been fired or laid off, how do you know that your company has followed all of the appropriate legal practices? What if you've been terminated unjustly? Wrongful termination occurs when you've been either laid off or fired from your job in violation of your rights. It is often difficult to prove that termination was illegal as you must prove more than just whether or not you were treated fairly; you must also show that your rights have been violated. 

Most states now have an at-will employment policy, meaning that your place of employment can lay you off or fire you without reason, and conversely, you may leave your place of employment without answering to your employer. A common exception to this is if an employer violates his or her own terms of termination as set forth in the employee handbook or bylaws. Many companies have their own rules for what must occur prior to an employee being let go, and if the company does not follow these rules, that can be sufficient grounds for proving wrongful termination. 

In addition to this policy, there are several other ways in which you may be able to prove wrongful termination from a job. 

Discrimination: A company may not let an employee go because the employee is a certain race, nationality, religion, sex, age, or in some states, sexual orientation.

Retaliation: If an employee submits a claim complaining of discrimination, the employer may not fire that employee because of this as it is forbidden under the employee's civil rights. 

Employee's Refusal to Commit an Illegal Act: An employer cannot fire an employee because the employee refuses to commit an act that is illegal.

Wrongful termination law typically falls into two facets:  wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and wrongful termination for "breach of implied contract." Wrongful termination in violation of public policy provides you with a cause of action against the employer based on strong public policy. Examples of this include the following:

• Anti-discrimination laws

• Whistle-blower protection laws

• Miscellaneous laws

Miscellaneous laws are often state-specific, but they typically cover things like family rights, maternity leave, time for jury duty, time off to care for sick children, and so forth. 

When claiming wrongful termination for "breach of implied contract," the employee must prove several factors, such as the employer’s consistent practice of progressive discipline and termination only "for cause," the length of employment, the history of steady promotions and raises, and the employer’s violation of its own internal rules and procedures. 

There are situations in which the “at will” relationship can be modified either verbally or through custom or practice, so it does not always require a legal document. These modifications can be made through a commitment from the employer for continued employment, or via a breach of something outlined in the company handbook or bylaws.  In these cases, it often means that the employment relationship has been modified so that an employer would require more than the “at-will” justification offered in most instances of employment law to lay off or fire an employee.