Wrongful termination can have severe financial and emotional consequences for workers. In a wrongful termination case, an employee can seek damages for their losses, such as lost wages, benefits, and emotional distress. It is important to understand what kind of damages are available in wrongful termination cases so that employees can ensure they receive the compensation they deserve.
What Counts as Wrongful Termination?
Wrongful termination can occur when an employee is terminated for reasons considered illegal by federal or state law or if an employee is terminated for reasons other than the ones listed in their contract or employment agreement, if such a clause was in their employment agreement.
An illegal reason to fire someone includes discrimination or retaliation, for example. Common examples also include being terminated for refusing to do something illegal or exercising a legally protected right, such as taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Employees who believe that they have been wrongfully terminated can pursue damages through a wrongful termination case.
What Damages Can You Seek in a Wrongful Termination Case?
In a wrongful termination case, the employee may be able to seek damages that compensate them for various losses associated with the illegal termination. These damages may include:
- Lost wages: This is the income you would have earned had you remained employed. While you cannot receive money equal to how much you would have made for the rest of your life, you can still receive payment for a short time. You may also be able to recoup any unpaid vacation or sick days you accrued before being wrongfully terminated.
- Benefits: This is only applicable if your position offered you benefits as a source of compensation. Benefits can include any kind of health insurance or retirement benefits you lost due to your wrongful termination. Employees may also seek reimbursement for the costs incurred to secure new health insurance coverage before their wrongful termination case is over.
- Emotional distress: Employees may seek emotional distress damages if they experienced mental anguish as a result of their wrongful termination. This can take the form of covering the cost of therapy or sometimes punitive damages.
How to Prove Emotional Distress
Emotional distress is typically more difficult to prove than economic damage, making it important to collect evidence of your experience. Be careful not to break any non-disclosure or non-compete contracts by doing so. Many companies will accuse you of breaking a contract if you email or copy evidence only to take it out of work. If you’re not sure what your employment contract allows, bring it to a consultation with one of our attorneys.
Otherwise, evidence can include:
- Testimonials from friends and family members who can attest to the emotional toll the termination has taken on you
- Medical records showing a diagnosis of mental illness that can be linked to the termination
- Pay stubs that reflect a loss in income
Contact Barrett & Farahany For Help Getting Damages for a Wrongful Termination
Being fired from your position can be stressful, especially when you have no idea why, or even worse, when you do and it’s not because of something that you did wrong. No one deserves to lose their job because they did the right thing or because of discrimination. If this happens to you, contact the wrongful termination attorneys at Barrett & Farahany so we can help.
