Many employees get terminated for no understandable reason. If you are an at-will delivery driver, for example, your employer is quite within its rights to terminate your employment for any reason it likes as long as the termination itself is not illegal under state or federal employment law. If you have proof that you were terminated unlawfully, i.e. your employer broke a law in terminating your employment, then you may be able to file an employment law claim against them.
Common Types of Wrongful Termination
Wrongful termination is either a clear breach of your employment contract, if you have one, or a breach of state or federal employment laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A good example of such a breach of contract would be forcing you to work for longer hours than stated in the contract or expecting you to do overtime or work on public holidays when this is not included as part of your contract. If you refuse to do work that is not part of your contract and are then fired because of this refusal, this would be an example of wrongful termination.
If you have complained about unsafe work conditions, e.g. using a delivery vehicle that had not been maintained properly, or was fitted with defective or shoddy parts, then a dismissal may be regarded as wrongful if it was done because of your complaints. It is also illegal to fire you if you have taken time off work for jury service, for family or medical leave, or military service.
Many terminations are due to unlawful discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) oversees anti-discrimination legislation at work. An example of wrongful termination due to discrimination would be termination because of a disability that didn’t affect your ability to do your job, i.e. drive a delivery truck.
For example, if you start to wear prescription spectacles, this shouldn’t affect your ability to drive a truck. If you are fired because of you wearing spectacles, this could be illegal termination. Other unlawful discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act includes discrimination due to:
- age e.g. older employee replaced by a younger person;
- sexual orientation e.g. gay replaced by a straight driver;
- race or ethnic group e.g. Latino replaced by a Caucasian;
- religious affiliation; e.g. Moslem replaced by a non-Moslem;
- gender e.g. female replaced by a male;
What to Do If You’ve Been Wrongfully Terminated as a Delivery Driver
This is certainly the most difficult part of a wrongful termination claim. You will need evidence to show that your claim that your employer breached your employment contract, or terminated you because of discrimination or some other illegal reason.
The following are examples of suitable evidence of wrongful termination.
- evidence that your termination followed a pattern, e.g. black drivers were routinely fired when there was a white driver available to do the job;
- extracts from your employment contract together with evidence of being forced to do work contrary to what was in the contract;
- statements from other employees to confirm you were wrongfully terminated;
You will need to collect any evidence you can that showed you were wrongfully terminated such as letters, emails, telephone calls or text messages. Make sure you have dates and times when you may have complained about safety standards, lack of breaks etc and the response from the employer.
Get a Free Evaluation Today
Challenging your employer, especially if you have been harassed at work or been confronted before being terminated can be frustrating and unnerving, even if you believe you are right to file your claim for wrongful termination. You should talk to an employment law attorney before you initiate legal action.
Many employment law attorneys often work on a contingency fee basis and defer legal fees until a case is won on your behalf. Fees may be included within the claim payment. Some do require payment upfront, so discuss pay requirements with your lawyer. You are welcome to get a Free Case Evaluation today on this page today.
