As we have already seen in previous articles, cases of discriminatory dismissal, breach of contract, retaliation, refusal to commit an illegal or dangerous act, or failure to follow the dismissal procedures established in the employee handbook are all unjustified dismissals and therefore illegal.
These cases are entitled to compensation as one of the different employment conditions between the United States and Latin America. Given the "at-will" employment method, no law requires the employer to inform the worker before an abusive dismissal. However, the employee has the right to hire a labor attorney if they believe they are in a situation where their rights have been violated.If you require this, you should contact Conexión Legal as soon as possible by calling 1800 201 1220 or reaching out to us through WhatsApp so you can receive the best free consultation and, in turn, representation from an unjustified dismissal attorney, so that in this way you can obtain the highest possible compensation.
What Cases Qualify as Unjustified Dismissal?
When you seek to file a complaint for unjustified dismissal, you may wonder if you have a valid complaint. To know this, your labor attorney will help you identify cases such as:
- Sexual harassment: sexual harassment is illegal, as is firing an employee for reporting it.
- Discrimination: Federal law prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against employees based on their race, skin color, national origin, gender, pregnancy, religion, age (40 years or older), genetic information, and disability.
- Retaliation: There are several laws that protect employees from retaliation for exercising their right to report or complain about workplace issues, such as discrimination or harassment, workplace injuries, safety violations, wage and hour violations.
- FMLA Violations: laws protect eligible employees from dismissal while on leave or sick leave. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of leave per year to: treat a serious illness in a close family member or to bond with a newborn.
- Wage and hour disputes: when an employee is fighting for unpaid wages, bonuses, or overtime and has been dismissed, it is a form of illegal dismissal.
- Americans with Disabilities Act violations: The ADA makes it illegal to fire an employee for a disability leave. Additionally, employers must make reasonable accommodations for a worker's disability and workers are protected from dismissal based on a request for accommodation.
If you have been dismissed for any of the above reasons, you may be entitled to reimbursement for losses incurred as a result of the termination of your employment relationship.
The payment you receive for unjustified dismissal will vary depending on the circumstances of your situation and the damages you accumulated. You could be eligible for the following forms of compensation:
- Loss of wages: not only for the salary you lost while you were unemployed, but also the difference between your previous salary and your new one if you found a job that pays less.
- Lost benefits: this includes increases in health insurance premiums as a result of losing employer-sponsored insurance.
- Medical expenses: due to changes in medical coverage and also for the treatment of emotional distress or other effects of your dismissal.
- Punitive damages: this applies to employers who engaged in very malicious or reckless discriminatory actions.
- Cost of job searching, and emotional distress, among others.
If you require it, consider contacting an unjustified dismissal attorney from the Conexión Legal team as soon as possible and receive a free consultation, so that in this way we can connect you with a labor attorney who will help you receive the best legal representation before the court, thus achieving the highest possible compensation for you.
Follow the steps in the following form to schedule your free consultation appointment.
