What to do if I was fired because I expressed concerns about the safety conditions at my workplace?
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What to do if I was fired because I expressed concerns about the safety conditions at my workplace?
I first told my superviser about it. However, he did nothing, so I went higher up notified my director of operations about it. I then started having problems with my assistant manager, so I filed a grievance with HR about safety and the unwanted attention. Then 2 days later I was fired. I just got a raise and was in any kind of trouble.
Asked on December 22, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Tennessee
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you were expressing concerns about conditions that violate actual safety laws or regulations, this may have been a wrongful termination--employees should not be terminated for reporting possible legal violations. If you feel this may have been the case, you should consult with an employment law attorney about your options.
If however these were not statutory or regulatory violatoins, you probably do not have any recourse. If there were no legal violations, you are not protected by the above principal; and otherwise, unless you had a written employment contract, you were an employee at will and could be fired at any time, for any reason, without notice and regardless of your prior performance.
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