| Topic Name: |
Wrongful termination of employee |
| Message Name: |
Just part of working in America |
| Date Posted: |
11/07/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
I was terminated from my employer after being there for 23 years for being out ill. I was told by my employer that my attendance was bad but I had FLMA. I was sick and could not control my illness. I reported out to my supervisor everytime that I was ill. My employer put on my termination paper the reason for being terminated was misconduct. I found out later that the reason my employer put misconduct so I would not get termination allowance or any other pay that I would have gotten if another word was used. I was very upset because I have never been dishonest with my employer. But my employer has cheated me out of what is due me after being employed for twenty three years. |
| Message: |
The days of employee appreciation are over. Nowadays, the working environment is more like one of Joseph Stalin's labor camps. When you're unable to put out, or you're just too old, they have you dig your own grave and they put a bullet in your ear. In your case, it appears as though they did it with a sadistic twist.
Unfortunately, it is very, very, very, very, very, ...., very difficult and expensive to prosecute a wrongful termiantion lawsuit. You have to have paper documentation that management conspired to terminate you for pretextual reasons. Your testimony and the testimony of witnesses without paper evidence is often not enough to win a case of this type.
Even if your case gets to trial in three to five years or longer, you may have to spend literally tens of thousands of dollars to get beforehand on things like document discovery, deposition expenses, etc. At trial you may only be entitled to compensatory damages (lost wages and expenses due to your termination) and a limited amount of punitive damages (if any). Your jury may even award you nothing, especially if you are in a conservative district!
What's the moral to the story? Employers know how the court system works, so they do dastardly things to their employees simply because they typical working stiff doesn't have the time, money, or savvy to engage in prolonged legal batttles.
My advice to you is to consult some attorneys that specialize in labor disputes. Call around and talk to several just to get a feel for which one may be right for you. Based on what you tell them, you may want to proceed with a lawsuit or just move on. If you decide to file suit, it is probably in your best interest to hire an attorney on a contingency basis because the hours may really add up and you don't want to be screwed too badly if your loose your case.
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