Employment in many states is entirely "at-will," meaning that both employer and employee have the right to terminate the employment agreement at any time with no liability.
Despite this general rule, discrimination is always illegal and some states have more exceptions to employment at-will than others.
In states where there are few exceptions, employees who have been wrongfully terminated may face a difficult battle to find justice.
The State of Texas might be the state with the most employer-friendly employment laws.
Although other states widen the protections available to employees who have been terminated, Texas maintains the legal notion that employer and employee are equal in bargaining.
In reality, unfortunately, employers almost always have more bargaining power than employees.
Under a certain set of legal conditions, however, people in places such as Texas can pursue suits for unlawful termination.
There are two primary circumstances under which unlawful termination has a place in jurisdictions such as Texas.
If an employer ordered an employee to do something illegal, and then fired the employee for not doing it, the employee can take action against the employer.
Discrimination is also a common route for unlawful termination suits.
Successful discrimination lawsuits almost never succeed unless the discrimination is because of a protected class like race or gender.
In cases where the employee disobeys an order to conduct illegal activity, the burden of proof is on the employee.
They must be able to present evidence that they were ordered to do something illegal.
For that reason, anyone whose employer has requested illegal actions should gather as much evidence as possible before they are unable to access that information again.
That way they can both win compensation for their unlawful termination and bring a nefarious employer to justice.
Discrimination suits almost exclusively succeed only if the cause of discrimination was the victim's gender, race, race, skin color, ethnicity, disability status, veteran status, genetic information, or religion.
In short, because of personal characteristics a person cannot change.
Some states also forbid discrimination because of a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity.
In Texas, however, these personal characteristics are not protected by law.
If you have been fired because of an employer's intolerant discrimination or because of your refusal to conduct illegal activity, you may be able to win compensation for your losses.
Employment law is a very nuanced specialization, however, so it is in your interests to find the most experienced, compassionate employment lawyer you can.
Although no lawsuit is every a sure thing, working with the right lawyer can maximize your odds of a substantial win.