It’s not wrongful termination. When the employer is not a government agency, then the employer may legally fire you for any reason (or no reason at all) except for a few reasons prohibited by law. The prohibited reasons include firing you because:
  • of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, or genetic test information under federal law (some states/localities add a few more categories like sexual orientation);
  • you make certain kinds of reports about the employer to the government or in limited circumstances to specified persons in the employing company itself (known as whistle-blower protection laws);
  • you participate in union organizing activities;
  • you use a right or benefit the law guarantees you (e.g. using leave under FMLA);
  • you filed a bankruptcy petition;
  • your pay was garnished by a single creditor; and
  • you took time off work to attend jury duty (in most states).


The exact list of prohibited reasons will vary by state. Firing you because the employer believed you had been drinking is not wrongful termination, even if the employer was wrong that you had been drinking because the employer doesn’t need good cause for firing you. So long as the employer didn’t fire you for a prohibited reason like those listed above it’s not a wrongful termination. There’s not much you can do about it at this point other than file for unemployment and explain to any future employers that you had really been drinking if the issue comes up. It’s not like you can prove it one way or the other now.