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Wrongful Termination in Retaliation

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  • 05-26-2011, 12:25 AM
    ooogha
    Wrongful Termination in Retaliation
    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Arizona

    Thank you SO much for reading...

    A couple months ago, one of the higher ups in the company came to visit and we we had a meeting. I was able to tell her the way I felt about my Manager and her relationship with my peer. My coworker was hired 9 months after me and my boss asked me to change the focus of my job duties to allow her to come in and handle what I had been doing (because that's what she handled previously). Being a team player, I obliged. Ever since she was hired, they would have conversations behind closed doors for no apparent reason... all the time! About two years ago, I was out on FMLA having a baby and upon my return found out that my coworker had been promoted. I thought that alone was just wrong - Not only was she not doing much, I have the degree (my job description said "degree preferred" and she went on to the next level). Next thing you know, work slows down and coworker is doing "nothing." Meanwhile, I am busy with a multitude of responsibilities and even volunteered for new stuff. While the higher up was in town, I told her that I knew my Manager had breached a confidentiality agreement by informing her "friend" where she was during a company acquisition. I knew this because she said, "I can't tell you where she is." The higher up said, "She shouldn't have done that; she signed a confidentiality agreement." I feel as though my being let go could be a result of retaliation - I told her a lot and perhaps I knew too much?! Needless to say all my notes were left at work as well as all my electronic stuff. In order to receive 4 weeks severance pay I have to sign a waiver stating I will not pursue a ton of stuff, including a wrongful termination suit. I only have a short time to sign to get this money which I need desperately. However, I do not want to compromise my chances of having a valid law matter. Does anyone out there think I should pursue this??

    I truly appreciate any and all candid responses. Thanks in advance.

    I should probably mention that the higher up's higher up is the one who came out to lay me off.
  • 05-26-2011, 05:51 AM
    eerelations
    Re: Wrongful Termination - Retaliation
    Retaliation in employment is only illegal if it's undertaken against an employee who has reported his/her employer's legally prohibited activities to an external regulatory body or similar such as the IRS, the DOL or the police.

    Nothing in your post even remotely indicates that your employer was involved in any illegal activities, or that this "higher up" is an agent of an external regulatory body. As a result, while your termination from employment certainly appears to be a retaliatory act, it is not an illegal retaliatory act as defined by law. Ergo, your termination is perfectly legal and you therefore have no cause of action for wrongful termination. The fact that the "higher up" communicated your termination to you is irrlevant.

    Your former employer is not legally required to offer you any severance pay. Whether or not you accept the severance pay offered is completely up to you.
  • 05-26-2011, 06:26 AM
    antrc170
    Re: Wrongful Termination - Retaliation
    Unless you are under a contract that you failed to inform the forum of, you were terminated legally by your description. AZ is an at-will employment state which means you can be terminated for any reason not prohibited by law such as race, sex, ethnic background, failing to perform illegal act, etc. You can be fired for not being a team player, for complaining, because the boss doesn't like you, or because the boss randomly picked you. Your co-worker recieving favoritism is not illegal and has nothing to do with you. "Its not what you know, its who you know." Sign the paperwork to get your severance and find a new job.
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