When you lose a job, there is often an instinctive response to fight the termination or to prove that the firing was unjust or illegal. In many cases, a firing is actually unjust or illegal, and demands that you take action to right the wrong. In other cases, the termination is perfectly legal, but still personally hurtful. If you are unclear about your options after an unexpected termination from your job, you may want to reach out to an attorney in Arizona who can help you assess your options.
Arizona recognizes many instances of both “right-to-work” employment and “at-will” employment, both of which often complicate terminations. While these two concepts are very similar, they are not the same. Right-to-work state laws protect employees from facing punishment or termination if they choose not to join a union that represents their type of work. Similarly, at-will employment means that an employee may keep or leave a job voluntarily, while an employer may choose to terminate an employee without a specific justification.
If you have an employment contract, you should review the terms of the contract to see if your employer violated the terms in some way. If you do not have an employment contract, you may still identify something unfair or discriminatory about your firing, which may give you grounds to fight it.
Sometimes, a company makes termination decisions that are difficult to accept, but still within the law. It is hard to know the difference if you are not fluently versed in the employment laws of Arizona. Be sure that you seek out all the guidance you need to fully understand your options for pursuing justice after a potentially unfair termination.
Source: Findlaw, “Your Rights when Losing or Leaving a Job,” accessed Oct. 20, 2017