Wrongful Termination Case

[kingofjong]

Jurisdiction

Illinois

Hello

I was wondering if I go through a lawyer and file for wrongful termination case will there be investigation into the company I filed against? They need to check all the emails any recorded meetings and talk to all the parties before deciding.

Thank you
Kingofjong

 

[flyingron]

Note that "wrongful termination" doesn't mean you were fired for things you don't think are fair or that you didn't do or whatever.

Wrongful termination means you were fired for reasons that are against the law (race, national origin, religion, certain whistleblowing acts), etc...

"They" aren't going to check anything. If you were fired over a civil rights complaint and you don't even need an attorney:

Illinois Attorney General - Workplace Rights Bureau.

 

[cbg]

For most cases of actual wrongful termination (and not what most people think is a wrongful termination) you have to go through a government agency (which one depends on what kind of wrong term it is) before you can file a lawsuit. There are exceptions, but not many.

You don't have to; it's up to you. But if you want to post some details we can tell you if you likely have a wrongful term case and if so, which agency (if any) you need to go through.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Let's start by defining what wrongful termination is. A wrongful termination is one in which you are fired for a reason prohibited by law. The prohibited reasons include firing you because:

• of your race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, etc) national origin, citizenship, age, disability, or genetic test information under federal law (some states/localities add a few more categories like marital status, veteran status, etc);
• you make certain kinds of reports about the employer to the government or in limited circumstances to specified persons in the employing company itself (known as whistle-blower protection laws);
• you participate in union organizing activities;
• you use a right or benefit the law guarantees you (e.g. using leave under FMLA);
• you filed a bankruptcy petition;
• your pay was garnished by a single creditor; and
• you took time off work to attend jury duty (in most states).

The exact list of prohibited reasons will vary by state. As defined in the law, a wrongful termination is NOT a case of being fired because the employer believes you did something you did not actually do.

With that in mind, what was the reason you were terminated?

If you have a good wrongful termination case under federal law against a private employer, except for cases of age discrimination, you must first file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before you may file the lawsuit. You must make that claim with the EEOC within 180 or 300 days from the date of your termination, depending on the state in which you worked. You will need what is known as a "right to sue" letter from the EEOC as your ticket to federal court.

If the reason for termination was illegal under state law then you'll need to find out what the requirements are in that state. If the termination was illegal under both federal and state law you may pursue both claims. In states that have agreements with the EEOC you will only have to file one complaint with either the EEOC or the state and you will have met your complaint requirements under both federal and state law.

If you were a government employee, the rules are going to be a bit different.

Hello

I was wondering if I go through a lawyer and file for wrongful termination case will there be investigation into the company I filed against?

If you file a complaint with the EEOC it will ask the employer for all relevant information regarding the termination. If the e-mails are relevant to the termination then the EEOC can seek those e-mails as part of its investigation. No lawyer is needed for that. Many states have a department or agency that does much the same thing.

If you want to sue the employer in court, then your chances of success will be much better if you have a lawyer experienced in wrongful termination cases representing you. Whether or not you have a lawyer, you have the right in the litigation to seek the emails through the discovery process if they are relevant to the case.

 

[zddoodah]

I was wondering if I go through a lawyer and file for wrongful termination case will there be investigation into the company I filed against?

Investigation by whom and for what?

If you're asking whether the filing of a wrongful termination lawsuit will automatically trigger some sort of governmental investigation, the answer is no.

They need to check all the emails any recorded meetings and talk to all the parties before deciding.

Who are "they"? Before deciding what?

 

[hrforme]

agree with the others....outside of a gov't agency requesting information, the prior employer is not going to turn over documents/calls/emails without a court/judge's subpeona if you can even get someone to sign off on that. They aren't going to turn it over to an plaintiff's attorney!

 

[Tax Counsel]

They aren't going to turn it over to an plaintiff's attorney!

If it goes to court, the employer will have to turn the information over to the defendant upon receiving a discovery request from the former employee. That discovery request goes to the employer from the former employee (or more likely through their attorneys). In most jurisdictions the court only gets involved if there is some problem or dispute over the discovery