You have certain legal rights even as your job is ending.

What's Below:

Does my employer have to give a good reason for firing me?
How do I know if I have an employment contract?
What are illegal reasons for firing me?
What can I do to protect any legal rights I might have before leaving my job?

Does my employer have to give a good reason for firing me?

Unless you have an employment contract with your employer, your employment is probably "at will," which means that your employer can fire you for any reason that isn't illegal. (Illegal reasons include discrimination based on race, sex, or another protected characteristic; retaliation for asserting your workplace rights; or punishing you for whistleblowing.)

This means that your employer's reason for firing you can be related to your job (for example, poor performance, excessive absences, or violating a company rule) or totally unrelated (for example, violating a law outside of work, speaking too loudly or abrasively, annoying your coworkers, or any other reason that is not illegal).

If you have an employment contract, however, the terms of your contract will determine the reasons for which you can be fired. Some contracts give a list of things for which the employee can be fired; others leave the issue open. In such a situation, the law usually says that you can only be fired for "good cause" -- meaning a legitimate, business-related reason. If your contract says specifically that your employment is at will, however, you are stuck in the same boat as those without a contract, and your employer has a great deal of leeway when deciding whether to fire you.

How do I know if I have an employment contract?

When most people think about a contract, they think of a formal written document. And many contracts do look that way. There are other kinds of contracts, however. You and your employer can come to an oral agreement that is never put in writing, and it may still be a valid, enforceable contract. And, if your employer has ever promised you something, that may have created a contract as well.

If you fit into the following situations and are fired for questionable reasons, then you might consider talking to an attorney:

• Your employer, supervisor, or manager promised you that you would only be fired for certain reasons -- for example, if you really messed up in your job or if the company failed.
• Your employer, manager, or supervisor promised you that you would have a long and secure career at the company.
• You and your employer, manager, or supervisor agreed orally on the terms or length of your employment.

What are illegal reasons for firing me?

Employers do not have the right to discriminate against you in violation of state or federal fair employment laws. Such laws protect against discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, religion, disability, and age. In addition, some states also protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity, whether a person receives public funds, and/or other characteristics. Such state and federal laws also protect you from being fired in retaliation for making a complaint of discrimination or assisting in someone else's complaint of discrimination on any of these bases.

Other state and federal laws also protect workers from being fired for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:

• forming a union or being involved in union activity
• complaining about or reporting unsafe working conditions
• reporting illegal activities in your workplace (also known as "whistleblowing")
• asserting your legal rights or engaging in legal conduct, and
• holding certain political or religious beliefs.

If you believe you may have been fired for an illegal reason, contact your state department of labor and/or fair employment agency for more information.

What can I do to protect any legal rights I might have before leaving my job?

Even if you decide not to challenge the legality of your firing, you will be in a much better position to enforce all your workplace rights if you carefully document what happened when you were fired. For example, if you apply for unemployment insurance benefits and your former employer challenges your unemployment application, you will typically need to prove that you were dismissed for reasons that were not related to your own misconduct.