Wrongful termination is not just a term referred to the act of firing an individual who seemed to be an asset of the company. Unfortunately, the law provides a little bit of leeway more to business owners than to employees. There are provisions that actually allow business owners to terminate an employee even for a seemingly unfair reason.

However, that does not mean wrongful termination is unlikely to happen legally. There are certain situations that could be a wrongful termination. If proven guilty, business owners will be held liable for the damages caused by that termination.

The following are the scenarios wherein wrongful termination happens:

Termination because of discrimination – If the business owner terminates anyone because of their belief, race, sex or anything discriminatory is wrongful termination.

Retaliation – It is considered wrongful termination when the employer terminates you when you have done something legal in your company. It could also be a wrongful termination through retaliation when the employer terminates someone because they did not do the orders of their boss but could be considered an illegal act.

Defamation – There are employees who make up stories about an employee in order to terminate them. When a person is wrongfully accused, the reputation is on the line and future career advancement becomes difficult. Defamation is wrongful termination because it is not true and they made it a reason to get an employee terminated.

Breach of Contract – When an employee is hired on a contractual basis, the employee may not be terminated during that period of time. The only way the employer could terminate an employee is through an escape clause. These are often added in the terms and conditions in the contract. When this is included, the employer could terminate the employee anytime they wish.

Breach of Good Faith – There are also “unwritten” contracts between the employee and the employer because of their good relationship. It could be considered wrongful termination if the employee have proven their worth in the company and have been continuously productive.

Constructive Discharge – Employees could also file for wrongful termination if the employer maneuvered the business operations to make your job more difficult. Employers would willfully place the employees in a very difficult situation; either in their working conditions and job responsibilities. Because the employees are unable to bear the burden, they resigned from their work. It is considered to be a wrongful termination because the employee has been burdened with job conditions.

The burden of proof in wrongful termination rests on the employees. They have to show facts and proof that they have been wrongfully terminated by their employers. The government has to protect the interests of businesses. If the burden of proof is placed on the business owners, they would be on court all the time proving their former employees wrong. That is why it is important for employees to gather the facts all the time if they feel they will be wrongfully terminated by their employees.