If we were to sum up employment law, it would all come down to this: your employer can fire you, but not for the wrong reasons.
A majority of states that include Texas are considered “employment at-will” states, which means employers can fire a worker for a lawful reason at any time. For example, if your employer needs to reduce the number of employees to turn a profit, your employer has the legal right to terminate employees if it operates in an employment at-will state
If your employer has the right to terminate you for a legally valid reason, what constitutes wrongful termination in Texas? As one of the most common types of legal grievances between workers and employers, wrongful termination in Texas occurs when an employer breaks a state or federal law that protects employees in the workplace.
At the federal level, one or more violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 constitute wrongful termination in Texas. Title VII makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against workers based on factors such as race, gender, and national origin. This means your employer cannot fire you because you are of a certain race, bender, or national origin. In conjunction with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 prohibits an employer from firing anyone 40 and older because of age.
If your employer terminated you wrongfully, you have the right to seek compensation to address the illegal act. At Morgan & Morgan, we have helped clients recover monetary damages for wrongful termination cases for more than 30 years. Schedule a free case evaluation with one of our employment attorneys to determine whether your employer violated a state and/or federal law by firing you.