Do you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated as a chief marketing officer (CMO)? Your former employer fired you without cause, which motivated you to find a way to seek justice for the apparent wrongful termination. Although you worked in a high-profile position in management, your former job, like most other jobs, did not require your employer to give you notice about termination. According to an employment principle established in most states, your former employer did not have to provide a reason as to why you lost your job.
Can a Chief Marketing Officer Be Fired Without Cause?
According to a legal principle called at-will employment, your former employer can fire you without cause and without giving you any notice. Unless an employer violates a state or federal employment law, a chief marketing officer can lose a job for just about any legally valid reason. For example, let’s assume your former employer needed to tighten the labor budget by cutting costs. Consolidating your job responsibilities with the job responsibilities of another executive position constitutes a legally valid termination.
What is Considered Wrongful Termination?
Wrongful termination represents an action taken by an employer that violates a state and/or federal labor law. The most common definition of wrongful termination involves violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The landmark civil rights law prohibits employers from committing acts of discrimination in the workplace. Employers cannot terminate workers because of factors such as race, gender, religion, and disability. If you experienced wrongful termination as a result of a discriminatory act, you might have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.
As the former chief marketing officer, you answered to a board of directors. Under an employment contract you signed that a representative from the board of directors also signed, you could not be fired for several reasons. If the board of directors violated the employment contract by terminating you, state and federal statutes protect you against the illegal act of violating a business contract. Your former employer also cannot terminate you by committing an act of retaliation. For instance, if you reported a workplace safety violation to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), your former employer cannot fire you because of your legally valid action.
What Damages Are Included in a Chief Marketing Officer Wrongful Termination Claim?
You have several legal remedies to pursue for being the victim of wrongful termination. The most common type of legal remedy involves requesting compensation for your financial losses. A CMO typically receives a lucrative salary, as well as numerous benefits such as free health insurance. You have the right to file a civil lawsuit that seeks compensation for your economic losses. A judge might award you monetary damages to cover back pay, as well as the money you would have earned if you had stayed employed.
Filing a civil lawsuit also might include asking for reinstatement as a chief marketing officer. If an act of wrongful termination prevented you from receiving a promotion, you can ask the court to grant you a promotion to a position that earns you more money and prestige. An act of wrongful termination committed on a chief marketing officer also can generate a financial award that covers the cost of pain and suffering, which the judicial system considers to be general compensatory damages.
Schedule a free case evaluation today with an employment attorney to discuss how to fight a CMO wrongful termination.
