DoI have a case for wrongful termination ifI never gave a formal termination?
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DoI have a case for wrongful termination ifI never gave a formal termination?
I was working for a high profile beverage company for 10 years until I made it to manager. With very little training they pressured me into getting the job done by any means possible. With performance slipping in the whole facility, myself and my counterpart were told to either start firing people or we would get fired. With such a toxic work environment and daily threats, I expressed my intention to possibly leave. They took it as a resignation (never gave them a note) and put a termination date in the system. I found out that the company restructered and our old bosses took some of our jobs.
Asked on January 4, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
I'm afraid that you have no legal recourse here for wrongful termination. The reason is that most employment relationships are what is known as "at will". In other words, you can choose to work for an employer or not and an employer can hire or fire you for any reason, a bad reason, or no reason; whther or not you gave formal notice to quit. It's the law. The fact that your old bosses took some of your jobs does not matter.
The exceptions would be if this action was not allowed by virtue of an employment contract/union agreement, or it violated company policy. Also, discrimination must not have played a role in your termination. Absent any of these circumstance your firing was lawful.
Note: As long as you did not resign or were terminated for cause, then you still have the right to file an unemployment claim.
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