Do I have a case against my employer? Law advice

[erin_j78]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping that I can hear from others that have been in a similar situation - or know of anyone that has been involved in a wrongful termination case.

I am recently laid-off (2 weeks ago). I was at my company for 2 years and 2 weeks. They were fully aware of my Crohn's Disease. My Cronh's never interfered with my doing my job. I rarely, almost never, called in sick. My director went as far as to tell me that my disease was never an issue.

The beginning of March I was told that I was having surgery April 7th. I made my work aware of my surgery and the time off that I would need (roughly 2 months). There never seemed to be an issue - but really what can they say anyway….

Well 2 weeks went by and to my surprise (the day before I was leaving for vacation) they lay me off - citing 'downsizing". They laid me and another woman (who just got back from maternity leave) off.

I am wondering, does this seem like "suspect timing" or coincidence? I am thinking about seeing a lawyer before I sign the separation agreement to get my severance.

Any thoughts? Or am I wasting my time…

 

[Colt]

You're not wasting your time. It's not a perfect case but it's probably enough to bring to court with a good chance of winning. It depends on the quality of your lawyer and what defense they go with. The timing and the unlikely coincidence with your maternity leave coworker mean that they're going to have to work rather hard to pull off the 'it had nothing to do with the medical leave' claim. It seems most likely that they decided that they needed to get rid of someone and they picked you and your coworker because of your medical leave. Even legitimate lay-offs have to be completely based on the need vs. cost for that position, and the person(s) selected to be laid off must be chosen on legitimate grounds like seniority, quality of work, randomness, etc. You can not pick the people to be laid off by discriminating against people using FMLA, or discriminating on any other illegal basis.

Definately contact a lawyer and as soon as possible. The more you wait the harder it is going to be to get what you want out of the case.

 

[Guest]

hi erin, i would say yes, go for it.. you have nothing to lose by having at least one conversation with an employment lawyer, to find out if it's worth chasing compensation.

just one tip... keep an eye on the job adverts over the next few months.. if you see your old job advertised by that company, then you'd have a very strong case.

 

[erin_j78]

Well, I actually did just look online..and the position is posted on the website and also posted on CareerBuilder.com - under the parent company name...not the sister company name (which is the one I worked for)...

Looks suspicious to me??

 

[Guest]

yes! i would say more than suspicious... it shows that they didn't sack you for the reasons they gave you.. i would think you have excellent grounds for unfair dismissal.. take a photocopy or scan of the advert, and show it to a lawyer who is experienced in this kind of thing. it may be a drawn out case, but could well be worth your while doing. good luck!

 

[katiesue1506]

Depends on your state... Indiana in a "no fault" state... meaning they can terminate you for no reasons.

 

[Colt]

That's not really true katiesue. They can terminate you without a reason, but they can't terminate you based on an illegal reason. Discrimination laws are mostly federal and trump state law anyway.

 

[katiesue1506]

In a "no fault" state, the employer doesn't have to state a reason for the termination... therefore you'd have to have a lot of incriminating information to prove it was discrimination of some sort.

But if they fired someone else at the same time, you couldn't prove discrimination. Also there's no proof that the reason they fired you was an illegal reason.

I'm not sure what to fight for here... I mean do you want your job back? And if so are you comfortable enough to work at a place after all this went through the court system? I mean technically you aren't on a contract (I'm assuming) and they won't "owe" you anything (unless compensation for discrimination)...

I'm just trying to look at it from a purely legal standpoint and I just don't see what to fight for. It IS possible they may have discriminated against you, however there's not much proof. I'm thinking this would not fall under a small claims court which means you'd be out a bunch of legal fees, and unless you won, you'd be responsible for them...

Even though the burden of proof in a civil lawsuit is 51% I just don't see how you will come up with that 51%.

It does sound fishy... however given the current state of the economy, I can see you getting nowhere.

My legal background keeps asking me how one would prove discrimination... and since its mostly a frame of mind... you'd have to find prior acts of the discrimination being shown to prove it. I just don't know how you'd do that.

Also they could give a reason for the job ads... maybe they were downsizing and wanted to hire someone to do your job at a lower cost to them, I mean that IS downsizing.

 

[ErinDF]

Hi Erin,

Alot of this depends on (a) your state and (b) details about the state of your company, etc. You should absolutely talk to an employment lawyer, many will give you an initial consultation for free or for a low cost. They can tell you more about the details of your local law and apply it to the facts of your case.

 

[Colt]

The "you don't pay unless we win" deal comes in pretty handy. It means that the lawyers won't take your case unless they are quite sure that you are going to win the case. If they're willing to take the case at all you can go in with some confidence that there's weight to your case.

 

[Thalesin]

I was diagnosed at 24 with Crohn's. I shortly after getting diagnosed lost all acess to regular health insurance. From 24 till just in February of this year (I am 37 now) I worked retail. I excelled and did well. The last employer I had abused me extremely. They refused to get paperwork from hospital explaining my condition when I did have issues come up. I gave them permission to do so, but as it cost money for records and by law in NH any medical records and cost associated must be paid by employer I did not get them myself till after they fired me. The termination itself was and still is a circus. I was fired and they claimed I was using a illegal controlled substance. I had a seizure during one of my shifts and was taken to hospital. There I was forced have a urine test done and tested clean for all controlled substances. I am getting unemployment by my former employer is still going after me. I am now considering getting SSID and filing an ADA complaint against my former employer. Anyone ever gone through similar or have advice? I am so burnt out it isnh't funny and feel like I am useless and all around me I feel I got people that just enjoy being mentally and personally abusive. I do have good support to my fiancee is an Angel that gives me a little reprieve from hell. But need to do something before I go nuts.

Please Help!!!!!

James R. Hunt