If you have been wrongfully terminated from your job, you will want to file a claim against your former employer. Through this lawsuit, you may be able to recover compensation for the damages and losses you suffered from your employer breaking laws and mistreating you.
You will need to have evidence and supporting documentation to show that you were the victim of wrongful termination. Your wrongful termination settlement can be anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 for your wrongful termination settlement depending on the circumstances surrounding your situation. Of course, these lawsuits vary on case by case basis, but most research indicates that the average settlement is about $40,000.
Compensation For Wrongful Termination
When you start getting your wrongful termination lawsuit in order, you will need to consider your losses so you can come up with the value of your claim. The value of your settlement is based on the damages that you suffered form your wrongful termination. You will need to prove your damages with documents and supporting evidence if the court is expected to take your case seriously.
Here is a rundown of the damages that you will claim when you file a wrongful termination lawsuit: 
Lost earnings – Your wrongful termination settlement is calculated by determining the pay that you would have earned if you had remained employed by the company that wrongfully fired you. This could include bonuses and commissions. Workers are expected to mitigate their losses, which means that the worker is expected to find a similar job as quickly as possible. If the former employer and the court determine that the worker didn’t mitigate his losses although they could have, that amount that could have been mitigated can be deducted from your earnings that you claim as having been lost.
Lost benefits – Your benefits play a substantial role in your overall compensation package, so include those in your calculations for damages. These benefits may include retirement plans, health insurance, stock options, 401(k) plans, transportation reimbursement, and employer provided vehicles or transportation.
Medical costs – If you were wrongfully terminated and your health insurance changed or lapsed, you may have incurred additional medical costs. You may also claim mental anguish and emotional distress because of the job loss.
Job search costs – You may incur costs associated with a new job hunt. Statistics show that individuals who file a claim that includes job search expenses, they are more likely to have a successful claim and recover a higher settlement.
Emotional distress – The loss of your job could cause anxiety, stress, and depression. In that case, you can claim emotional distress or mental anguish.
Attorney fees – Sometimes, your attorney’s cost and fees can be built into the settlement, making it so you do not have to pay out of pocket for your lawyer’s services.
Punitive damages – If it has been found that your employer’s actions were outrageous, then punitive fees may be built into your settlement to provide punishment.
In addition to monetary damages, you may be able to also request to see that policy changes are made to possibly ensure that the same thing does not happen to someone else.
Average Wrongful Termination Settlement
Most wrongful termination settlements are between $5,000 and $80,000. However, you may get more, or you may get less than this amount. This is because the settlement amount is dependent on a case by case basis which is calculated based on wages, extent of the discrimination, attorney expenses, loss of benefits and out of pocket expenses if you have to search for another job and submit an application.
An example of a wrongful termination settlement.
The victim of the wrongful termination was in the following position:
- earned $4,000 per month;
- had a pension plan in place;
- had health insurance;
- had a mileage allowance;
- was emotionally distressed at losing the job so had to seek help from a therapist;
- started a new job search.
The victim had been out of work for a month, so claimed $4,000. The pension plan, health insurance and mileage allowance came to $2,000. The job search costs were $1,500. The amount claimed for emotional distress and the treatment costs came to $2,500.
A victim of wrongful termination in this situation would claim about $10,000. There are other amounts that could be included such as punitive damages which are calculated if the actions of your employer were unforgivable then punitive damages are included in the settlement to punish the employer. Attorney fees may be included in the settlement too especially if the employment attorney works on a contingency fee basis when no legal fees are charged until a settlement is reached.
Calculating The Damages
As an example, you were earning $4,000 per month at your job plus you had a pension plan, health insurance, and mileage allotment. You were devastated by your job loss, so you saw a therapist for the emotional distress. You also started a job search, so you claimed job search costs.
You were out of work a month, so you claimed $4,000. Your pension plan, health insurance and mileage allotment totaled about $2,000. Your job search costs were $1,500. You also claimed emotional distress and those therapy bills, so you asked for $2,500. In this scenario, your claim would be worth about $9,800 to $10,000.
Demonstrating You Were Wrongfully Terminated
When you have been wrongfully terminated and file a lawsuit, you will want to properly calculate your losses and damages so you will understand the value of your claim. You want to recover fair compensation to take care of your damages. Before you get a claim underway, there are some things that you need to understand. If you were fired unfairly, that isn’t the same as being the victim of wrongful termination.
To pursue a claim against your former employer, you must have been wrongfully terminated. Wrongful termination means that you were fired from your job for an illegal reason. These are reasons such as harassment or discrimination because of age, national origin, religion, gender, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. Individuals who filed wrongful termination lawsuits and recovered more compensation and had more success were represented by a lawyer.
You will also need to determine if you were an “at-will” employee. An at-will employment means that your employer does not need a good or reasonable reason for letting you go. They also do not need to let you know ahead of time that you are being fired. It can be more challenging to prove you were wrongfully terminated when you are an at-will employee.
To help show you deserve a specific settlement amount, you will need to gather evidence to support your claim. This can include any evidence to show you were wrongfully terminated as well as evidence to show monetary damages. You may need receipts, invoices, copies of any employment contracts, memos, performance reviews, etc.
Consult With An Employment Law Attorney
An attorney will be able to help you get your claim on track and will gather supporting evidence and documentation. Complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page to determine how to proceed with your wrongful termination claim.
