Massachusetts, like all other states, recognizes at-will employment, which means that a person can be fired for just about any reason. They can be fired because their boss wasn’t happy that day, they arrived to work three minutes late, or because the sky is blue. There are exceptions to this, but it is the case for most types of employment and most people. One of the exceptions is being fired for being in a protected class and, if they are fired for this reason, they may want to speak with one of the Oakland Wrongful Termination Attorneys, to see if they have a case.
Protected classes include race, color, religion, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, pregnancy, citizenship, familial status, disability status, veteran status, and genetic information. If a person is fired because they are part of one of these classes, they can be entitled to compensation for the lost wages. However, just because a person is part of one of these classes doesn’t mean they were fired for that reason. This is what an attorney can help determine to see if they have a wrongful termination case or not.
An attorney can obtain the person’s personnel file from the employer to see if there ever were disciplinary actions taken that could be the reason the person was fired. If they were fired after repeated warnings, the case likely doesn’t fall under wrongful termination. If this isn’t the case, the lawyer can sort through any evidence the person has, including witness statements, to help prove that they were fired because of their protected class and that they are entitled to compensation for the lost wages. They’ll also need to determine how long the person worked at the company and how much compensation they should expect if they win the case.
Creating a case for wrongful termination is often difficult, mainly because of a lack of evidence. However, the Oakland Wrongful Termination Attorneys, know how to tell if a person was wrongfully terminated and how to create a case that’s going to help them obtain the compensation they might be entitled to so their lost wages are covered. For more information on wrongful termination cases, visit Bracamontes & Vlasak, P.C. today.
