If you have been working as a plumber for an employer, and you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated, you may be able to file a claim against your employer for wrongful termination. Wrongful termination does not mean that you simply disagree that the termination was wrong. It must be an illegal act according to employment law.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets out what employers are not able to do under federal law. There are similar, often stricter, employment laws enacted by the different state governments, too.
If you have signed an employment contract, then you should have better protection against wrongful termination than if you were an at-will employee. Even at-will plumbers can file a claim against their employer for wrongful termination if their employer has done something illegal.
Common Types of Wrongful Termination
There are several reasons why your termination could be illegal. You cannot be fired for complaining about unsafe conditions at work, for example.
No-one should be forced to work in a dangerous place or without appropriate safety equipment. You cannot be fired for having time off work for jury service, for applying for workers’ compensation, taking family or medical leave or military service.
If you have an employment contract, then if your employer has fired you for refusing to work for longer hours, at a weekend or on a public holiday or for less pay than is stated in the contract, then this could be wrongful termination.
There are also a number of different types of discrimination that are illegal. Discrimination at work is against Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and enforcement of the law is the job of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC). If you are sacked because of your color, ethnic group or religious affiliation, for example, this would be in clear breach of anti-discrimination law.
The same law prevents you from being discriminated at work because of a disability (assuming that it didn’t prevent you from doing your work as a plumber), sexual orientation, gender and age. For example, if you think that your employer fired you as a plumber in favor someone twenty years younger than you, this may be grounds for a claim for wrongful termination because of a violation of the law.
What to Do If You’ve Been Wrongfully Terminated as a Plumber
You will not convince the EEOC or a judge that you were wrongfully terminated unless you have sufficient evidence to back up your claim. If the termination follows a complaint against unsafe work practices or a breach of your employment contract you should collect evidence from your contract or from conversations and written or electronic messages you have had with your employer.
If any of your fellow plumbers or anyone else at your place of employment is prepared to make a statement confirming your position, then this could be valuable. Often a series of messages or record of verbal confrontations can help to confirm illegal dismissal. If your termination followed other similar terminations and you have proof of this, then this could be useful evidence as it shows a pattern of illegal employment behavior.
Getting proof that you were terminated because of discrimination can be particularly difficult. You may need to show previous examples of similar discrimination against other employees and why you think the discrimination ended in your dismissal, e.g. you were replaced by someone else because of their skin color, gender, etc., not because of their skill as a plumber.
Get a Free Evaluation Today
Challenging your employer can be difficult and stressful. You do need to know that you have got a good case against your employer and that you have sufficient evidence to support your claim. The best advice is to talk to an employment law attorney before you file a claim.
Many attorneys work on a contingency fee basis and will absorb your legal fees together with court costs into a claim so that there are no up-front costs. Some attorneys, of course, prefer to offer legal help on an hourly fee-paying basis so ask about pay requirements.
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