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Employment
For What Reasons Can My Employer Fire Me?
In Ohio, employees are presumed to be “at will.” At-will employees may be terminated for any reason, so long as it’s not illegal. Obviously an employer can fire or refuse to hire someone who lacks qualifications. An employer could also fire or refuse to hire anyone with body art or piercings, without breaking the law.
What if I have an Employment Contract?
Generally, employees who work under an employment contract can only be terminated for reasons, and through methods, specified in the contract. However, in Ohio, the terms of termination can be changed if the parties’ conduct shows a clear intent to impose different conditions.
Is My Employee Handbook a Contract?
In Ohio, employee manuals and handbooks are usually insufficient, by themselves, to create an employment contract. However, in certain contexts, customs, company policies, employee handbooks, and oral representations may be used to establish an implied employment contract or an implied term of that contract.
What Are Illegal Reasons for Termination?
Discrimination laws respond to specific, invidious biases that have worked their way into employment decisions. These biases lack any valid business justification and have been used to deny people employment opportunities because of the bias.
While a bias against people with tattoos may lack a business justification, it is not so wide-spread that people with tattoos are generally at a disadvantage when it comes to employment opportunities.
Employers are not allowed to terminate or discriminate against employees for the following reasons:
• Age
• Race
• Sex
• Religion
• National origin
• Disability
• Pregnancy
How Do I Prove Discrimination?
Discrimination in the work setting requires the plaintiff to prove that he or she is a member of the class of employees intended to be protected by an anti-discrimination law, that he or she was qualified to hold the position held or for which he or she applied, and that he or she suffered some adverse job action supposedly on the basis of one of the categories of discrimination prohibited by law.
What Types of Harassment on the Job Can I Sue For?
If you are being harassed at work because of your race, color, sex (gender), religion, or age, you may have a claim under federal or state law for unlawful harassment in the employment setting.
General unspecific acts of harassment – while offensive, annoying, and unprofessional – unfortunately do not constitute the sort of conduct for which the law will provide a remedy. The only exceptions to this general principle are found in the context of rights guaranteed by an employment contract.
What is Sexual Harassment?
Sexual harassment is the most prevalent form of harassment. An employer may be liable to an employee for instances of sexual harassment which can include unwelcome sexual advances, conduct or other physical or verbal acts of a sexual nature, which occur in the workplace. There are two types of sexual harassment, “Quid pro quo” sexual harassment and hostile work environment sexual harassment.
“Quid pro quo” sexual harassment occurs when job-related benefits are offered in exchange for sexual conduct. In order to sustain a quid pro quo claim of sexual harassment, a plaintiff must demonstrate:
(1) that the employee was a member of a protected class,
(2) that the employee was subjected to unwelcome sexual harassment in the form of sexual advances or requests for sexual favors,
(3) that the harassment complained of was based on gender, and
(4) that the employee's submission to the unwelcome advances was an express or implied condition for receiving job benefits or that the employee's refusal to submit to the supervisor's sexual demands resulted in a tangible job detriment.
Hostile work environment occurs where an employer maintains an overly sexual work environment. To establish a claim of hostile-environment sexual harassment, the plaintiff must show:
(1) that the harassment was unwelcome,
(2) that the harassment was based on sex,
(3) that the harassing conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive to affect the "terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment," and
(4) that either (a) the harassment was committed by a supervisor, or (b) the employer, through its agents or supervisory personnel, knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
Can An Employer Retaliate Against Me?
Ohio law protects employees from retaliation for engaging in protected conduct. In Ohio employees can sue for economic, emotional and punitive damages if their employer takes adverse employment action against them for engaging in certain types of protected conduct.
Protected conduct includes filing a charge of discrimination, a complaint for violation of occupational health or safety laws, a report with authorities with evidence of your employer’s having committed a felony or having engaged in conduct that would tend to compromise public health or safety, or a claim for benefits under an employer-sponsored group benefit plan or for worker’s compensation. Likewise, no employer may retaliate against you for helping anyone else to file a discrimination action, act as a “whistleblower," or file a claim for worker’s compensation benefits or unemployment compensation.
An employee who believes that he or she was fired as a result of having engaged in protected activity may wish to bring a "retaliation suit" against the employer. Retaliation suits let juries scrutinize an employer's motives. If a firing or other adverse employment action follows soon after the protected conduct, a jury may conclude that the protected conduct motivated the employer to take the adverse action.
Are there government agencies to help with an employment discrimination claim?
Yes, to file a charge with a government agency for employment discrimination contact:
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (federal agency) or Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
While Both the EEOC and the OCRC are excellent agencies neither would represent you the same way a private lawyer would. These agencies represent the government, not the individual claimant. So while each agency is equipped to investigate your claim and determine whether there is “probable cause” for believing that you in fact were victimized by an act of employment discrimination, there is no assurance the agency ultimately will take on your case.
The number of people who file charges on a weekly basis overwhelms these agencies. Their resources are stretched to the limits of their budgets as they deal not only with employment discrimination cases, but other forms of discrimination such as housing and public accommodation discrimination. As a result, while they are obligated by law to accept every charge of discrimination that is presented to them, the EEOC and OCRC try to sift through the cases and tackle only the ones presenting the most outrageous acts of wrongdoing, or offering the best chance for making an example of an employer.
A private attorney has none of these issues and thus can represent your interests fully in any action.
What about unemployment?
Ohio’s unemployment compensation program is administered by the state and provides monetary compensation to workers who have been terminated without cause, through no fault of their own. Employees who voluntarily terminate their employment for good cause may also be entitled to benefits.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Bureau of Unemployment Compensation Benefits, administers the Unemployment Compensation Benefits Program. The program is funded by employer taxes and reimbursements, and employers cannot deduct money from employees' paychecks to pay for this program.
For information on unemployment compensation see: Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
Please contact Bogrees Law to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.
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