You may have thought you were making great strides at your job. You may have even been getting stellar performance reviews and feedback in the past few years. So, you may be completely blindsided if you come into work one day and you are notified of your termination, effective immediately. You may have so many questions but nobody is able or willing to give you satisfactory answers. The main one swirling in your brain may be, “Was I wrongfully terminated?” Well, for this, please follow along to find out whether you have been wrongfully terminated by your employer and how a proficient Gloucester County New Jersey wrongful termination lawyer at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C. can help rectify this predicament you were put in.
What should I know about at-will employment in New Jersey?
Before you jump to the conclusion that you were unnecessarily fired from your job, you must remind yourself that New Jersey is an at-will employment state. This means that your employer may be allowed to end their employment relationship with you at any time, for any reason or no reason, and without notice. They may also demote you, cut your wages, reduce your allotted paid time off, or otherwise make changes to your employment without cause. They may do so to any New Jersey employee without an employment contract.
How can I tell if I’ve been wrongfully terminated from my job?
Of note, at-will employment in New Jersey only stands if it is not for illegal reasons. Otherwise, it may be considered a case of wrongful termination. For example, as an at-will employee, you are also allowed to refuse to perform a job task assigned by your employer that violates the law or public policy. Also, you have the right to report these violations that are happening in your workplace to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the United States Department of Labor (DOL), the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or even your company’s Human Resources Department. Specifically, you may do so without fear of being terminated by your employer in retaliation.
Without further ado, below are other ways in which your termination might be considered an illegal action:
- Your employer terminated you because you used your allotted sick days and paid time off.
- Your employer terminated you because you took the day off to observe your religious holiday.
- Your employer terminated you because you took your allotted maternity leave after giving birth to your child.
- Your employer terminated you because you took the necessary breaks given your disclosed physical disability.
- Your employer terminated you because they discriminated against your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.
The time is now. Please pick up the phone or message us at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C. Surely, one of the New Jersey employment lawyers on our team will be the perfect fit for your upcoming legal case.
