It is not always simple to know when or if you can challenge your termination from work, especially if you are employed at-will. An overly simplistic understanding of at-will employment may lead many people to think that an employer can simply fire an employee for any reason without recourse, but this is not the case.
At-will employment does not do away with wrongful termination, although it does raise the bar on what qualifies as wrongful. Under at-will employment law, both the employer and the employee maintain the right to end the arrangement at any time without a particular reason. However, this does not mean that all reasons for firing an employee are acceptable.
If an employer fires you for discriminatory reasons, or violates state or federal law in your firing, at-will employment law does not prevent you from pushing back against this treatment. An employer may certainly still break the law if they fire you for reasons that violate the Civil Rights Act, for instance.
At-will employment also does not do away with contracts. If you have a contract and your employer fires you in violation of the contract, then you may have strong grounds to object to the firing and pursue legal action.
If you have any reason to believe that your termination violates the law in any way, do not hesitate to use strong legal tools to protect your rights. By pushing back against this kind of unfair practice in the workplace, you not only strengthen your own position, but also make the workplace fairer and just for those who have not yet stood up for themselves.
