Wrongful Termination – Illegal Firing

Free Legal Consultation: If you have been disciplined at work or fired, please give us a call to schedule a legal consultation with Kevin Keaney, (503) 232-9280 or e-mail .

Losing your job can be traumatic, humiliating…and quite possibly even illegal.

If you find yourself fired from your job, the termination may have been wrongful and/or illegal, and you might have cause to challenge a dismissal. If you were recently fired, know that you’re about to be fired, or were forced to quit your job or even take a demotion, give us a call, and in a free legal consultation, we can discuss your employee rights.

In a lot of states, including Oregon and Washington, employment is “at will,” which means that your employer can fire you at any time or for just about any reason, as long as the reason isn’t illegal.

Illegal reasons for firing someone include the following:
•whistleblowing
•pregnancy
•medical leave
•discrimination (based on age, race, sex, disability, religion, or other protected classes)
•retaliation for filing a complaint with the EEOC

There are some exceptions to the “at will” employment rules, such as if you have a written employment contract, or even a verbal or implied contract with your employer. If you belong to a union, in all likelihood, you’re working under a contract, sometimes referred to as a “collective bargaining agreement” or “working agreement.”

If you have been fired or demoted and feel that it was wrongful or illegal, you’ll want to take action immediately, because your window for filing a claim can be as little as six months. Depending on the nature of your firing, you’ll take your claim to the Oregon State Bureau of Labor and Industries, the Washington Human Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or the Federal Department of Labor, and in some instances, you’ll have to go to these agencies first, before you can then go to court.

To learn more about wrongful termination, or to sit down with us at the office for a free legal consultation, call our office at (503) 232-9280, or e-mail .  We represent nurses in Oregon, Washington, and Texas.

Please note: Our law office helps nurses and other licensed professionals with employment law issues. 

Kevin Keaney is an attorney who helps nurses defend their license in Texas, as well as Oregon and Washington.