Losing your job is bad enough, but things can get even worse if you are wrongfully terminated. This is where you are fired for an illegal reason. If you suspect that the reason you were fired is not legal, you have grounds to sue and to seek compensation from your employer. Remember that you need to act quickly because most jurisdictions have a deadline for when you can file a complaint or lawsuit for wrongful termination. Below, we will discuss what you need to do to pursue any legal issues you may have with your employer and to have some reprieve.
Contact the Human Resources Department
The first step after you have been wrongfully terminated is to get in touch with the company’s human resources department. The reason for doing this is to find out why you were terminated. If the answers are not satisfactory or if you are being taken in circles, it is likely that the real reason for your termination may not be legal.
If you need to move on with legal action, do note that you need to have exhausted all options available to you before doing so. You can file a claim against your employees with the employment bodies in your jurisdiction and start preparing a lawsuit. For this, you will need law firms that specialize in wrongful termination cases such as Lotas Legal. Lotas Legal helps victims of wrongful termination in Minneapolis hold their employers accountable.
Gather Evidence
The first thing your lawyer will tell you is that you need sufficient evidence to win your case. If you have already talked to the human resources department, you may already have some evidence that your termination was illegal. The types of evidence that will help you win the case include communication that cannot be refuted. That could be emails, voicemail messages, photos, and text messages. If there are witnesses to incidents like sexual harassment, you should get in touch with them and ask them to come forward.
Lastly, write down everything you remember about the incident and circumstances of your termination. No detail is too small here, and an accurate account can go a long way in helping you out.
Let Your Lawyer File
At this point, you should have enough evidence to show that your termination was illegal. Filing a lawsuit happens because the investigating body did not reach a settlement or you filed a lawsuit before their investigation was completed. In either case, your lawyer will take you through the whole process and represent you wherever they are required to.
Your lawyer will also look at your case and all evidence you have and tell you whether it would be better to settle or to go to court. In some cases, you may benefit more from agreeing to a settlement out of court than you would if you decided to sue your employer.
Wrongful termination is devastating and can end up putting you in financial jeopardy. In cases where the reason for the termination is not legal, you have every right to talk to a professional body to have the company investigated, or speak to a lawyer to file a lawsuit for compensation.
