Can a CFO be fired without cause? The answer is yes because most states operate on the employment at-will doctrine. This doctrine allows employers to terminate employees without cause, even CFOs that work jobs that carry a considerable amount of prestige. However, the wrongful termination of a CFO can happen if an employer violates a law established at either the state or federal level. If you work as a CFO and your employer wrongfully terminated you, an employment attorney can review your case to determine whether you have strong enough evidence to file a civil lawsuit.
What Does At-Will Employment Mean?
At-will employment means your employer can terminate you without cause, even if you work as a CFO. For example, the CEO of your company can let you go to save money by hiring a less experienced CFO. Another example of a justified firing involves streamlining the number of executives that are employed by your company. You do not have to receive any notice before you get fired without cause. Under the principle of at-will employment, your employer can fire you without cause and without giving you notice.
Were You Wrongfully Terminated as a CFO?
When an employer fires a CFO with cause, the employer might have crossed the legal line established by state and federal employment laws. A CEO cannot fire a CFO based on an act of discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination of any kind in the workplace. This includes not discriminating when promoting employees, as well as terminating them. A CEO cannot fire a CFO based on age, race, gender, disability, and national origin. Proving discrimination based on terminating a CFO requires a detailed examination of human resources paperwork, as well as listening to the accounts of current employees.
Wrongful termination also can involve an act of retaliation. Let’s say a CFO contacts the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to report workplace safety violations. The CEO cannot terminate the CFO as an act of retaliation for reporting workplace safety violations to OSHA. Another type of workplace retaliation concerns sexual harassment. An employer cannot terminate the CFO for reporting on or more acts of sexual harassment.
What Are the Monetary Damages Awarded for Wrongful Termination Cases?
If you work as a CFO and your employer wrongfully terminated you, the first step involves contacting an employment attorney. Your lawyer reviews the evidence associated with your case, as well as interviews every witness. If you have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit, your attorney submits the proper paperwork required to start the process for receiving monetary damages.
Special compensatory damages cover the economic costs related to a wrongful termination case. You can seek monetary damages to cover lost wages, as well as future wages the CEO promised but you never received. General compensatory damages cover non-economic losses such as pain and suffering. A CFO wrongful termination case and trigger mental and emotional issues that make it difficult to work another job. If a CEO intentionally violated a state or federal employment law, a wrongfully terminated CFO has the right to seek punitive damages.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation Today
The only way to know if you have a strong enough case for CFO wrongful termination is to reach out to an employment attorney. Most employment lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis for wrongful termination cases, which means you do not have to pay any upfront legal fees.
Schedule a free case evaluation today with an employment lawyer who specializes in litigating wrongful termination cases.
