When a company decides to terminate an employee, a person from human resources or a supervisor may have a conversation with said employee to explain the reasons for the termination. In some cases, the employee may accept these reasons without issue and move on to their next employment opportunity. In other cases, however, the employee may dispute the employer’s reasons or find them to be unsatisfactory.
In at-will employment states such as Maryland, even unsatisfactory reasons for termination are acceptable, as long as the reasons are legal. The following examples may constitute legal reasons to terminate an employee:
- The employee was not getting along with their coworkers.
- The employee was regularly absent or late.
- The employee failed to perform up to the standards of the employer.
- The employee violated a workplace policy.
What constitutes a wrongful termination?
If you have been fired for an illegal reason, you may have a valid claim against your employer for wrongful termination. To prove wrongful termination, you will need to establish that your termination violated public policy and that there was a connection between your termination and the public policy. Under federal and state public policies, an employer cannot fire an employee for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons:
- Discrimination: An employee is terminated because of their race, sex, religion, or other protected characteristic.
- Retaliation: An employee is terminated for engaging in a protected activity (e.g., taking FMLA leave or filing a harassment complaint).
An employer may also not fire an employee if their firing would breach their employment contract.
Employers will generally make up a legal reason to terminate you to cover up the unlawful reason for your termination. For example, your employer may claim you were terminated for poor performance, even though all your performance reviews were exceptional. To prove a wrongful termination, you will need to present plenty of evidence, including correspondence with your employer, statements from co-workers, and written company policies.