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Wrongful Termination - Missouri

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chrsntnyclrk

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Missouri

My fiance was wrongfully terminated for a false sexual harassment claim that was made by a young girl that thrives on being the center of sexual attention at work on a daily basis. There are several factors and things that we brought to the attention of the company in why they should not fire him but they refuse to listen to us and are automatically taking the side of this young girl. I don't really want to post all of the details on an open forum but was wondering if anyone had experience in dealing with this kind of thing that might be able to discuss it with us in more detail in private messages and maybe give us some pointers.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
A wrongful termination does not mean that you were fired for something you didn't do. It means that a specific law prohibits the employer from firing you for the reason they did.

He may have been unfairly terminated but unless there is far, far more to the story than you have shared, he was not wrongfully terminated. The law does not prohibit the employer from firing an employee on suspicion of misconduct, even if they are mistaken.

So any legal recourse he has here will not be against the employer for wrongful termination, but against the girl. He will need to show that she deliberately falsified the report she made to the employer. Not that she was mistaken, not that she misunderstood something, not that she truly but mistakenly believed he was making advances towards her, not that she jumped to an incorrect conclusion, but that she knowingly and deliberately lied. He will have the burden of proof.

This is not a do it yourself project. If he wants to pursue this he should discuss it with a local attorney.
 

Betty

Senior Member
Agree, the only "possibility" of any recourse is against the girl & it would have to be proven that she deliberately lied.

The termination for suspicion of sexual harassment was not illegal. Mo. is an at-will employment state & an employee can be terminated at any time for any reason except a reason protected by law (ie age, religion, gender) or unless there was a bona fide employment contract or CBA to the contrary. It's just like he could have quit his job at any time for any reason.
 

smorr

Member
Actually, CBG, I think he'd have to file a claim against both the employer and the girl in the case. He could go for arbitration, which would be a binding legal decision and very difficult to appeal - if it goes in his favor, that is. However, he'd really need some concrete evidence shown by e-mails or other types of evidence that proves the employer erred in their decision to fire him, based on the misinformation and/or out-and-out lies by the girl. In the end, though... even if he did win, would he really want to go back to a place that would fire someone based on one person's tales? And, at what cost is he fighting for his job? If this girl lied about him, she will do it again to some other unsuspecting person and the company will (hopefully) eventually let her go if it continues from employee to employee. Massachusetts is also an at-will state (well, some jobs are) but we still have the ability to sue a company if we feel we've been wrongly terminated.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I'm in Massachusetts as well. You don't need to teach me about Massachusetts law.

He can try suing the employer, but he won't win. The laws are heavily weighted in favor of the accuser, not the accused, and what is described simply does not meet the legal definition of a wrongful termination (in any state).
 

smorr

Member
CBG - I don't try to "teach" anyone Massachusetts law nor do I ever profess to know it all. I'm sorry you took offense to that. However it is not exact to say that the laws heavily favor the accuser all the time. I realize this situation doesn't show that this person would win given what was offered as information. I simply stated if he was going to take a law suit against the employer, he should name both the employer and the employee. The law firm I work with does employment law and discrimination as well as a lot of other areas. Typically, the employer is named along with the employee. More than likely the employer would be dropped as to their liability by the court because he IS an employee at will. I was explaining a scenario, IF he was to file and IF he was to win. Never said he would win and never said the company was wrongfully terminating him. IF you re-read my last thread.. you'll find there are, indeed, a lot of IF's in the answer. Small word..means a lot.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
And I also said that IF there were more to the story, the answer could be different.
 

smorr

Member
And I agree. Plus, the person posting the original thread said they didn't want to post all the details on an open forum. I can't imagine they'd get a viable solution from anyone and/or correct cause of action if they don't post that or at least summarize what types of allegations were brought against him.
 

smorr

Member
Oddly enough... the following is listed on the Free Advice website under the listings for Sexual Harassment....I Googled "Wrongful Termination" and "Sexual Harassment" and this is what I found. In this case the person was cleared and not terminated, so it doesn't mention what to do in case of being terminated for the alleged act, but it may help a little.



"Employment Labor Law - Sexual harassment

Page 10 of 11

I was falsely accused of sexual harassment by a former subordinate. The accusations were leaked to my fellow workers and now, despite being cleared, my peers now express disdain for me . Do I have a case?

This is a tough one. Who was responsible for spreading the defamatory word around -- the employee who made the accusations against you, you, or your employer?

You can complain if the responsible party was the employee or the employer because it is illegal to unjustly malign the reputation of another person, and such conduct may be defamatory against you. If you talked about the accusations with your coworkers, you may not have grounds for complaint, because you either were or contributed to the source of the gossip.

An experienced libel and slander attorney can help you sort through the facts in your particular situation and shed some light on the relative strengths and weaknesses of your case."
 

BoredAtty

Member
A wrongful termination does not mean that you were fired for something you didn't do. It means that a specific law prohibits the employer from firing you for the reason they did.

He may have been unfairly terminated but unless there is far, far more to the story than you have shared, he was not wrongfully terminated. The law does not prohibit the employer from firing an employee on suspicion of misconduct, even if they are mistaken.

So any legal recourse he has here will not be against the employer for wrongful termination, but against the girl. He will need to show that she deliberately falsified the report she made to the employer. Not that she was mistaken, not that she misunderstood something, not that she truly but mistakenly believed he was making advances towards her, not that she jumped to an incorrect conclusion, but that she knowingly and deliberately lied. He will have the burden of proof.

This is not a do it yourself project. If he wants to pursue this he should discuss it with a local attorney.
Nice post. I'd say that sums things up nicely.
 

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