Wrongful Termination Attorney in Kansas City

Wrongful Termination Due to Retaliation

You might also have a wrongful termination case if you were fired in retaliation for asserting your legal rights. For example, the same laws that protect employees from discrimination also protect employees who report or oppose discrimination in the workplace. So if your employer fires you because you complained of discrimination, you might have a wrongful termination case due to retaliation.

We see this situation come up a lot when an employee believes he or she is being discriminated against or harassed at work and decides to report it to a manager or HR. The employee did the right thing by reporting the discrimination, which gave the employer the opportunity to also do the right thing and fix the problem. But sometimes, the employee’s complaint is not well-received, and the people involved start to retaliate against the employee. Sometimes an employee might be fired immediately after making a complaint of discrimination, but usually there is a pattern of more subtle retaliation that occurs before the employer fires the employee. The retaliation might take a variety of forms – increased workloads, unfair write-ups, reassigned work schedules, snide remarks, and hostile attitudes from co-workers or supervisors are just a few examples. 

When the employer ultimately fires the employee, the employer usually offers a reason that does not appear retaliatory on its face. This is common, and a Kansas City wrongful termination lawyer can help you prove that the employer’s reason is “pretext” – or a cover-up – for illegal retaliation.

Let’s consider another example of how this might play out in the workplace: A black man works on a construction crew with all white co-workers. His white co-workers constantly tease him with racial stereotypes, asking him if he brought “watermelon” and “chicken” for lunch today, or whether he knows who his father is. He tells them their jokes are not funny, but they do not get the picture. The situation continues to get worse until someone leaves a noose hanging in his truck from the rearview mirror. The black employee understandably becomes irate. He confronts his co-workers and a yelling match ensues. Threats and curse words are exchanged. The black employee complains to his foreman about the situation, and after talking to the other employees involved, the foreman fires the black employee for “threatening and disruptive” behavior.

The example above is based on a real case the Law Office of Kevin A. Jones handled. The behavior the black employee experienced was not just inappropriate – it had no place in any civilized society. The black employee was certainly disruptive when he was harassed with a symbol of racial violence, and undoubtedly threatened his co-workers during the confrontation. If he had not been provoked by racial harassment, his employer probably would have been within its rights to fire him.

But what the employer failed to consider was that the racial harassment by the white co-workers was equally, if not more, disruptive and threatening than the black employee’s reaction after discovering the noose. That is, the white co-workers were just as guilty as the black employee, if not more so, for engaging in disruptive and threatening behavior. But the employer did not fire any of the white employees. This evidence of disparate treatment can be used to not only prove discrimination, but also to prove that the employer’s reason for firing the black employee – threatening and disruptive behavior – was really just an excuse to fire the black employee for complaining about discrimination.

These are some other common ways an employer might retaliate wrongfully discharge an employee for retaliation in Missouri:

• Wrongfully terminating an employee who complains about discrimination or harassment
• Wrongfully terminating an employee who reports health and safety violations
• Wrongfully terminating an employee who files a charge of discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Wrongfully terminating an employee who participates in a government agency investigation against the employer

Wrongful termination cases based on retaliation are generally proven through circumstantial evidence. Also, as with discrimination cases, the employee need only prove that one of the reasons for the employer’s decision was retaliation. So, if the employer had five reasons to terminate an employee, and one of them was retaliation, then the termination was wrongful. The law takes this position because it wants to protect employees who come forward about illegal conduct in the workplace, and because it is so easy for employers to fabricate one or more “legitimate” reasons to fire someone.

Retaliation cases usually are not cut and dry. It often requires careful examination of the circumstances, including the employee’s performance and disciplinary history, the employer’s policies and procedures, and the employer’s conduct in other similar circumstances. If you believe you were wrongfully terminated due to retaliation, you would be well-advised to talk to a wrongful termination lawyer in Kansas City. Like the Law Office of Kevin A. Jones, most do not charge any legal fees to review your situation. If you contact us, we will give you straight forward advice and tell you if you have a case or not. At the end of the day, we want you to at least understand your legal rights and remedies so you can make a good decision about whether to pursue your case. 

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Wrongful Termination by Breach of Contract

Another important exception to the at-will employment law is when the employee and the employer have entered into an employment contract. If you have an employment contract, your employer’s ability to terminate your employment may be restricted to certain specific circumstances. If your employer terminates your employment in violation of your contractual rights, you are entitled to all remedies provided by the contract and the law.

Employment contracts differ from employer-to-employer, and your rights will depend on the specific terms and provisions of your contract. A Kansas City wrongful termination lawyer can help you make sense of all the legalese. If in doubt, it’s probably best to have an attorney take a look.

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