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Austin Wrongful Termination Lawyer

Austin Wrongful Termination Lawyer

Wrongful termination is another way of saying your employer fired you illegally. In Texas, employers can fire at-will employees for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all, as long as it’s not an illegal reason. Illegal reasons include firing someone for discriminatory reasons such as their race, gender, color of skin, religion, age, disability status, veteran status, ethnicity, or national origin. It is also potentially illegal to fire an employee for making a complaint or report of discrimination – that is called retaliation.  For employees who have employment contracts (often executives, physicians, and founders), wrongful termination is often another way to say the employer breached your employment contract in firing you.

Take action! Losing your job can be very stressful especially when you are fired for illegal reasons. You should contact us immediately to move forward.

What is wrongful termination?

Wrongful termination is another way of saying your employer fired you illegally. In Texas, employers can fire at-will employees for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all, as long as it’s not an illegal reason. Illegal reasons include firing someone for discriminatory reasons such as their race, gender, color of skin, religion, age, disability status, veteran status, ethnicity, or national origin. It is also potentially illegal to fire an employee for making a complaint or report of discrimination – that is called retaliation.  For employees who have employment contracts (often executives, physicians, and founders), wrongful termination is often another way to say the employer breached your employment contract in firing you.

I have heard that Texas is an at-will state, what does that mean?

It means that Texas employers can fire Texas employees at any time for nearly any reason. It seems strange, but Texas employers often do not even have to give their employees a reason for firing them. Employers have a structural advantage in the employment relationship, but employees still have important rights to be free from discrimination, hostile work environments, harassment, and retaliation, and to blow the whistle in a way protected by state and federal statutes.

I have an employment contract; how do I know if my employer breached the contract by firing me?

The elements for a Texas breach of contract claim are simple:

These disputes usually turn on the definition of “good cause” or “for cause” in the employment agreement.  Employees should diligently negotiate those terms before entering into any agreement.  Employers often try to broadly interpret those terms to fire executives, and executives dispute the interpretation of the terms, as well as their application to the executives’ actions.  A common dispute is whether alleged poor performance is sufficient for “good cause” to fire the employee.  As you might imagine: the devil is in the details.

I was fired because of my religion, is that legal?

Absolutely not! Firing someone on the basis of religion or religious practice is illegal discrimination regardless of whether the employee is “at-will” or not. Both Federal and Texas law prohibit termination on the basis of:

How do I prove I was fired for discriminatory reasons?

Proving wrongful termination based on discrimination must include the follow elements:

How do I prove I was fired because of my protected status?

Any proof of bias by the employer against this protected class can help. Comments by decision-makers that show the intent to discriminate against people in your protected class are sometimes sufficient.  Sometimes company policies show that the employer was biased against the protected class.  For example, some companies have written policies stating workers must be 100% healed from injuries or disabilities before returning to work, even if they are ready to return earlier.  Those policies are likely evidence of the employer’s discriminatory intent.

What other factors suggest discrimination?

Other factors include things like if the employer has a well-documented history of discrimination, whether the employer can state a logical, coherent non-discriminatory reason for firing the employee, and statements to the press and to shareholders about company employment practices.

What is wrongful termination based on retaliation?

Retaliation is when an employee is fired as a means of revenge for exercising a legal right. This includes filing a discrimination or harassment complaint, requesting maternity leave, filing a workers’ compensation claim, and blowing the whistle on certain unlawful behavior.

If you are fired from your job because of the reasons above or something similar, you may have a retaliation claim. Retaliation claims are some of the strongest employment claims, because the facts are often hard for the employer to dispute. Contact an Austin wrongful termination lawyer immediately.

How do I prove I was fired as part of retaliation?

You will need to be able to establish the following elements:

I’m pretty confident I have been a victim of wrongful termination, what do I do now?

Take action! Losing your job can be very stressful especially when you are fired for illegal reasons. You should contact an Austin wrongful termination lawyer immediately to move forward.

Deadlines vary, but in Texas some deadlines are as short as 60 days.  Some claims require filing with administrative agencies like the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before going to court.

I was fired for being pregnant, is that against the law?

Pregnancy discrimination has been against the law since 1978.  Pregnant workers who get fired or not offered the same accommodations as other workers who need extra time or flexible schedules should demand justice immediately.

I was fired for illegal reasons two months ago, is it too late to make a claim?

No. For most discrimination claims, Texas employees have 180 days to file a complaint with the TWC and 300 days with the EEOC. Some claims (like breach of contract, unpaid overtime, healthcare fraud whistleblower) have far longer deadlines, some as long as three or four years.  However, you should take action as soon as possible to ensure you do not miss any deadlines. Contact an Austin wrongful termination lawyer.

What kind of compensation can I expect in a wrongful termination case?

What you can recover as damages from your wrongful termination lawsuit depends on the statutes your employer violated. In most cases, there are three types of damages victims can recover:

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Client Testimonials

I had the most positive experience working with Austin Kaplan. He was extremely knowledgeable and took care of us from start to finish. He will go above and beyond making sure you understand all the aspects of your case. Extremely professional, well versed in employment law, and overall excellent attorney! Highly recommend him!

— Clint H.

Austin was impressive and able to accomplish the results in my case. Like me, he is goal oriented, and his approach to my case was not only efficient but extremely effective. If you are looking for a lawyer that will provide personalized attention and help you accomplish your goals efficiently, I highly recommend Austin.

— Richard, Unpaid Overtime (FLSA) / Retaliation

Great Law Firm. Really professional.

— Marcello P.

The firm was very quick to help and thoroughly understood my issues. They provided sound, timely advice and helped me achieve a fair settlement.

— Jeff Q.

I reached out to Austin in hopes he could offer guidance with a difficult employment situation which had me feeling helpless and depleted. In my initial meeting with Austin, he offered insight into employment law confirming my suspicions that my employer was not acting in compliance with legal expectations.

Austin was thorough, compassionate, and knowledgeable as he explained legal definitions and the implications associated with various potential actions I might engage. Through the course of the next several weeks as Austin and I worked together, he displayed rich creativity and a deep understanding of the art of both law and negations while always being open to collaborative discussion. Having Austin on my team offered me the support I needed to feel empowered and take action and, ultimately, led me to a resolution which feels both fair and absolute. I have already recommended Austin to several personal friends/colleagues and will continue to voice my support for Austin and his team.

— S.L., Severance Negotiation, Sexual Harassment, Retaliation

I would like to personally thank Austin and his staff in handling my first time attorney experience. Him and his staff were very polite and very professional. He really took the time to explain everything which made me feel like he really cared. He responded to every email that I had questions and concerns and I got answers. Thankful I had Austin in my corner. Thank you once again for doing an amazing job. I would highly recommend Austin and his team.

— Jenevieve S.

Austin helped out my dad on a employment matter. Within a short time Austin got results and my dad was very happy with the outcome. Austin knows what he is doing I couldn’t recommend him any more.

— Pedro V.

It was an absolute pleasure working with Austin Kaplan and his staff.  They are very personable, easily available for questions and procedures, incredibly knowledgeable, and they made a terrible employment experience easy to deal with.  I cannot say enough great things about the Kaplan Law Firm.

— Shelby L.



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