Is it legal to fire someone for living with someone they are not married to?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is it legal to fire someone for living with someone they are not married to?
My employers have know I was living with my fiance, but they fired me and stated this as their only reason. They have had previous male employees that lived with their girlfriends but no action was taken against them.
Asked on March 21, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Neither federal law, nor, I believe, the law of your state makes it illegal to fire someone for cohabitation, so in principal, your employer could fire you on this basis, assuming you do not otherwise have an employment contract protecting you from termination.
However, it is illegal to treat men and women differently in employment, simply due to their sex or gender. If male employees have not been terminated for something which you, a woman, were fired for doing, that may be illegal sex-based employment discrimination. You should consult with an employment law attorney; you may have a legal claim or cause of action. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.