At Will Employment in Texas

At will employment can be a slippery slope toward discrimination.

Many people across America have lost their jobs in the face of this
dreadful recession. Many of them needed to be laid off or let go
because the company they worked for could no longer afford to pay their
wages. Downsizing or resizing has become common and the consequences
are devastating for those who lost their employment, as well as their
families.

The underlying question here is whether or not a person lost their
job due to the poor economy or for other nefarious reasons having to do
with prejudices, illegal cost-cutting in the workplace, retaliation or
blatant discrimination. Have you been terminated legally or do you
suspect that something else was going on and you were wrongly fired? If
you feel you were discriminated against in some form or other, then
contact a Texas employment law attorney right away. While these cases
may be difficult to prove, depending on the circumstances and how
quickly you call a competent lawyer, you need to be made aware of your
legal rights and discuss the case with someone who knows the law
intimately.

The one strike you will have against you if you have been let go is
that your employment, unless you have a contract, is “at will” which
means you work for your employer as long as they want you and until
they choose to fire you at any time for pretty much any reason. Mind
you, this also means you may leave anytime you would like as well.

This doesn’t mean that you are not protected. You have the rights
and guarantees of many laws which include: Chapter 21 of the Texas
Labor Code and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964) backing you up.
These laws deal with the illegality of discrimination based on age,
sex, national origin, color, race or religion. There are other laws
that specifically state you may not be denied work if you have a
disability; may not be terminated if you are asking for unpaid leave
under the Family and Medical Leave Act; are refusing to perform an
illegal act for your employer and/or if you are blowing the whistle on
fraud, safety violations or environmental issues where you work. If you
happen to have an employment contract in place, then you may have
protection from termination under certain circumstances.

Again, look to the economy to understand the main reason behind the
high numbers of jobs being lost. Take a closer look and you may also
find employment discrimination going on. Consider the most recent
statistics from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Texas
that state they investigated roughly 13,000 more complaints in 2008
than in 2007, and there were 95,402 charges issued against employers
last year.

The hidden side of the numbers doesn’t show that sometimes when an
employer is faced with cutting a portion of his staff, they may make
some of those decisions based upon an improper bias. On the other hand,
these numbers also reflect an increased level of awareness on the part
of those who have been terminated; that they may have been fired for
the wrong reasons, thus prompting them to file a complaint or lawsuit.

Do you feel that you have been wrongly terminated? If that is the
case, speak to an experience attorney who will ask you the right
questions to evaluate your case, find witnesses who may be able to
verify your story, and assist you if your case gets to mediation or a
courtroom.

Seth Wilburn writes for the Gomez Law Group, a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit Gomezlawyers.com.