Wrongful Termination?

[pogo_80]

What is the name of your state?IL

If an owner of a company throws furniture into you, slams you up against the door and causes bruises on your body, tells another employee after this that he's getting rid of the women in his life, then fires you..is this wrongful termination?

 

[Veronica1228]

What is the name of your state?IL

If an owner of a company throws furniture into you, slams you up against the door and causes bruises on your body, tells another employee after this that he's getting rid of the women in his life, then fires you..is this wrongful termination?

I would call this assault, not wrongful termination. File a police report.

 

[pogo_80]

Thanks for your response.

The police came right after it happened. Will I be able to sue for lost wages or should I just file a civil suit for assault on top of the police charges?

 

[Veronica1228]

Thanks for your response.

The police came right after it happened. Will I be able to sue for lost wages or should I just file a civil suit for assault on top of the police charges?

What precipitated your boss' tirade? It may not matter, but I just thought I'd ask.

In most case wrongful termination only applies if you were fired because you belong to a protected class. In other words if you were fired because of your race, religion, age etc. Otherwise, most states are at-will which means that your employer can fire you for any reason, and you can quit for any reason. He can't hit you for any reason though which is why he should have to face assault charges.

You can of course sue him for this or any reason, but you may want to find a lawyer locally to see if they think you have a good case. Usually you will be successful if you are able to prove that you have suffered damages. If you were injured to the extent that it prevented you from finding new employment, this could be considered damages. If all you have is bruises, your case would be pretty flimsy.

Try to seperate the assault from the firing. You can't get back at your boss for firing you by using the assault as revenge. In the court's eyes one will have nothing to do with the other.

 

[cbg]

Tough call.

There are two types of wrongful termination; violations of Title VII and violations of public policy.

If he's firing BECAUSE you're a woman, that's a wrongful termination under Title VII. If it's for another reason, it's not. Unless we can somehow turn his assault of you into a public policy violation. Whether we can or not is hard to say.

In general, a public policy violation is one in which you are fired BECAUSE you applied for or utilized a right or benefit under the law. That does not appear to be the case here, although you haven't said WHAT caused him to go into this tirade. I'm certainly not prepared to say that this is NOT a public policy violation, however, because i would think you have a right to expect not to be assaulted at work.

However, whether this is a wrongful termination or not, you certainly should look into all your legal options. Talk to a local attorney about what you can reasonably expect.

 

[pogo_80]

Thank you so much for all the great responses!

His hostility has been going on for 5 years. I've called the police on him at work before. He's always screaming, violent and the last time he was screaming and foaming at the mouth so I told him I knew he has a cocaine problem (his girlfriend told me).

There's no reasons why he flips out like this, unless it is in fact related to drugs. It's always happened on a Monday or Tuesday.

I spoke with an attorney and basically he said this person is in breach of his fiduciary duties of loyalty and care (I'm also a shareholder of the corporation). I've also ended up in the emergency room over his actions.

Not sure if his comments to another employee in regards to getting rid of me because he's eliminating the women in his life would be a violation of Title VII. Does one have to directly say they are firing you because of your gender?

He's offered a settlement of approx 400k, but paid over 10 years.

 

[pogo_80]

Also, after the last assault I filed an order of protection. He told the corporate attorney this was reason enough to fire me. Would this be a form of public policy? Thanks.

 

[cbg]

No, he does not have to say directly that he is firing you because of your gender. If that were the case, no one would ever win a discrimination case because all an employer would have to do would be avoid making such a statement and he'd be home free.

Public policy varies too much depending on the state you are in, to say if the statement you quote would be sufficient to prove a public policy violation or not. I can't give you absolute certainty that public policy is even involved in this situation at all.