Have you ever felt like you were unfairly treated at work? Have you ever been let go from a job in a manner that felt wrong? There is a chance that your rights were violated by your employer. If you are discriminated against or terminated based on belonging to protected classes, you have a right to pursue justice. Keep reading to learn more about how this works.
When you are ready to set up a confidential consultation with an experienced and dedicated Rochester employment lawyer, please give our office a call. We would love to get you set up right away.
What Are the Protected Classes?
A protected class is a group that you may belong to by birth or circumstance that is legally protected. You cannot be fired because of your belonging to a protected class.
An employer is not legally allowed to discriminate against or terminate you from your employment based on:
- Your race
- Your ethnicity
- Your religious beliefs
- Your genetics
- Your sex, including gender identity and sexual orientation
- Your pregnancy
- Your status as a veteran
- Your age
- Your disabilities
- Your citizenship
These are the protected classes or protected characteristics in which an employer cannot treat you differently because of. You are protected under federal and state laws.
We have been brought on to represent many cases of wrongful termination. You deserve justice if you have been discriminated against. You should act quickly to reach out to a lawyer if you believe you have been terminated based on your belonging to a protected class.
What is Wrongful Termination?
In New York State, there are plenty of reasons why your boss can let you go that are perfectly legal. They can simply dislike your attitude, think you don’t work hard enough, or run out of work for you to do. There are, however, many illegal reasons to fire you.
For example, they cannot let you go because they don’t like that you are Jewish. They cannot let you go because they think that you won’t work as hard now that you are pregnant, or they don’t want to find a replacement for you while you are on maternity leave. They cannot fire you after they find out your sexual orientation.
Further, you cannot be fired because you spoke up about being discriminated against. That would be considered retaliation.
What Type of Justice Can I Get?
If we have proof that you were wrongfully terminated, you will be entitled to compensation for your damages related to the claim.
In terms of wrongful termination related to protected classes, you are entitled to the earnings that you lost and the benefits that you lost, which includes interest on both. You are also entitled to emotional distress for the troubles of being discriminated against. On top of that, you would be entitled to your legal fees pertaining to your case.
There are some cases in which you would be eligible to receive punitive damage, which by definition, is meant to punish an employer. This would be for extreme cases and used to try to deter other employers from acting in their footsteps.
If you want to know more about the damages that you are entitled to, we encourage you to reach out to our office right away.
Call Our Rochester Wrongful Termination Lawyer
If you want to file a complaint against your employer for wrongful termination or employment discrimination based on protected classes, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Our Rochester employment lawyer, Michelle Cimino, is dedicated to bringing justice to her clients when their rights have been violated. Please give us a call today to set up your confidential consultation.
