Being accused of wrongful termination is no laughing matter- in fact, if your company is found to be liable, you may wind up with financial responsibility for your actions. This is to say nothing of the other repercussions at stake, such as your reputation and the potentially public nature of a court case. If you have been named in a wrongful termination case in Houston, it may be beneficial to pursue resolution instead through mediation.
Employers cannot discriminate against an employee based on the employee’s membership in a protected class such as disability or race. Employers are also prohibited from firing an employee who had rights under public policy which he or she exercised- such as serving in the military, taking time off work to vote, taking time off to serve on a jury, or whistle blowing. Furthermore, employers cannot retaliate against employees who have engaged in some kind of protected activity, like filing a formal complaint with the company about discrimination or harassment, filing or talking about filing a workers’ compensation claim, and similar situations.
While the majority of employment contracts are “at will”, giving the employer the ability to fire an employee at any time for nearly any reasons, violations like those mentioned above could spur a Houston legal dispute over wrongful termination. Mediation may be a more private and efficient means to work through those disputes with former or current employees.