Wrongful termination is the termination of employees without due cause. It is prohibited in the state of Virginia, and employees can consul Wrongful Termination attorney virginia when they are terminated from the workplace without a legal cause.
Virginia is one of the many states in the U.S. that prohibit termination based on an employee’s race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, disability, or genetic information. Wrongful termination may be any form of termination that is not voluntary or at-will by either party. Virginia has a wrongful discharge statute that provides employees with remedies for being wrongfully discharged, among other things.
However, employees in the private sector of all states, including Virginia, can be fired any time without any reason. The employees of the private sector are collectively called at-will employees. In their case, wrongful termination actions cannot be taken. However, there are few exceptions in the case of at-will employees. The termination of employees, even in the private sector, can be charged wrongful termination actions if they are terminated for the following reasons.
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Discriminatory reasons
In Virginia, it is illegal to fire someone for discriminatory reasons. Unfortunately, many people in Virginia are discriminated against in the workplace. For example, if an employee is discriminated against because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, they may have a legal claim against their employer. The law in this area also protects people who are discriminated against due to their race, national origin, religion, color, disability, and more.
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Violation of employment contract
A contract can be considered to have been violated if the employer changes the terms of the contract without the employee’s consent. Wrongful termination is a legal term used when an employer terminates employment without following proper procedures as stipulated in the termination clause of their employment contract. In some cases, wrongful termination has been found to be illegal and amounts to a violation of state laws.
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Exercising employee rights
Virginia has a statute that protects employees when they exercise their rights under the federal and state labor laws. The statute also prohibits employers from taking any retaliatory employment actions against an employee. One such right is the right to inform public officials about labor or industrial conditions, and another is the right to refuse unsafe work assignments. The law states that an employer cannot fire, suspend, or discipline an employee for exercising these rights without fear of reprisal.
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Refusing to perform an illegal action
A whistleblower is someone that discloses evidence of wrongdoing in an organization, typically to the state or to the media. Many people who are whistleblowers are fired for refusing to do something illegal. Virginia doesn’t allow wrongful termination because of refusal to perform an illegal action. However, if you refuse to perform a legal action, you could be fired, and wrongful termination actions cannot be taken.
