Most states follow the 'at-will' employment legal principle. This means your employer has the right to hire or fire you just as long as they do so legally. In other words, your employer cannot mistreat you or violate your rights just because they have the power to hire and fire you. But, despite this, many employers still violate the law and violate their employees' rights. If that's what you or your loved one is dealing with, you may be able to take legal action against the rogue employer.
Some good and valid reasons to sue an employer include the following:
Wrongful Termination
Just because your employer has the right to hire or fire you as they please does not mean you do not have rights as an employee. For example, if your employer terminates your employment for unfair reasons, you can sue them for wrongful termination.
In most cases, employees are shielded by law when they participate in 'protected' activities in the workplace. Examples of these protected activities include:
- Offering information to authorities investigating the employer's conduct
- Raising the alarm over certain violations in the workplace by the employer, e.g., tax evasion, child labor, etc
- Defending the rights of other employees in the workplace
- Refusing to participate in illegal activities in the workplace per the employer's orders
- Requesting accommodation of an employee's disability
- Filing a worker's compensation claim
- Appearing as a witness in investigations targeting the employer
Discrimination
Labor and employment laws all over the country protect workers from discrimination in the workplace. Specifically, these laws protect workers against discrimination based on protected characteristics such as race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, skin color, disability, or others.
Harassment
You may be able to sue your employer if you have been harassed in the workplace. This is especially true if:
- Harassment is a condition of continued employment. Take an example of a situation where your employer demands sexual favors from you in order to keep your job. This amounts to sexual harassment.
- The employer's conduct interferes with your ability to perform your job. For example, if you cannot concentrate at work because you must constantly watch out for your employer who keeps making sexual jokes towards you, this is a form of harassment that interferes with your job.
Failure to Provide Workers' Compensation Benefits
When you get injured in the workplace, you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits unless you are exempt. In fact, all U.S. states but Texas require most employers to provide workers' compensation insurance. Even so, some rogue employers misclassify their workers as exempt to avoid paying taxes and offering other benefits regular employees are entitled to.
So if you get injured in the workplace, and your employer fails to provide this insurance even though you are eligible for coverage, you may be able to sue them.