Wrongful Termination
Discriminaton/Wrongful Termination
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate in hiring, promotion, termination, and other aspects of employment based on the employee's race, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability, or to retaliate against an employee for opposing such illegal practices.
To prove employment discrimination or wrongful termination, an employee has to prove that he or she was fired, or not hired, or not promoted, or harassed because of his or her sex (male or female), national origin (African, Asian, Hispanic), age (over 40), or disability.
Religious discrimination may occur when an employer requires a person to violate religious beliefs such as working on the Sabbath, or eating forbidden foods. In such cases, an employer must reasonably accommodate the employee so as to enable the employee to do his job without violating his religious beliefs.
A termination of employment is not necessarily discriminatory or wrongful in an "at will" employment state like Indiana. In Indiana, an employer may terminate the employment relationship for many reasons, even a bad reason, so long as the reasons do not violate state or federal law. Stated another way, in Indiana, an employee can quit work at any time with or without notice, for any reason, and an employer can terminate the employment relationship at any time. Unless there is a written contract guaranteeing a specific term of employment, either party may terminate the employment relationship at will. Nevertheless, acts of employment discrimination, or terminations which violate state or federal laws, or retaliatory discharges are exceptions to the at will employment relationship.
Proving discrimination most commonly requires an employee to prove that he is qualified for the job and that he was treated less favorably than employees of a different race, sex, national origin, religion, or other protected classification. The burden then shifts to the company to provide a non-discriminatory reason for its action. For example, the employer can show that the employee's work performance was not adequate, or that the employee engaged in a dishonest act. The burden of proof then shifts back to the employee to show that the reason given by the employer was untrue or that the reason would not have justified the action taken against the employee.
If you have been subjected to discriminatory treatment or wrongful termination, we can help.