My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: CT I was fired for "willful misconduct", which was really just a pretext for retaliatory firing due to exposing embezzlement within the company - embezzlement they buried instead of fixing to protect federal funding. They fought my unemployment benefits and lost as willful misconduct was not proven. Beyond getting retro benefits, what are my rights to pursue some type of litigation against my former employer? Not only have I lost a lucrative job of 10 years, but they have made defaming statements against me publicly, attempted to ruin my reputation. I have suffered severe anxiety over this issue that was torturous for a year until they found some drummed up charge to fire me. I understand CT is an "at will" state but when an employer chooses to target and eliminate a faithful employee and try to ruin thier reputation in the process, there must be some type of action the wronged employee can explore.
Thank you