Seattle Wrongful Termination Lawyer
Washington is an at-will employment state. This means that, generally speaking, your employer can terminate your employment at will; there is no legal requirement that termination be “for cause.” (There are some exceptions to this. Public employees and union employees many have greater job protection than non-unionized employees in the private sector.) So yes, your employer can terminate you even if you have outstanding performance reviews and you have done nothing wrong. However, an employer cannot fire you for a discriminatory reason—in other words, you can’t be fired for your age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, or disability.</p
It is also unlawful for your employer to fire you in retaliation for certain actions. The following types of employee actions are protected; you can’t be fired in retaliation for reporting or complaining about:
- Discrimination, either toward yourself or others
- Whether you are being paid properly
- Filing a workers’ compensation claim
- Reporting unsafe or potentially unsafe working conditions
- Requesting accommodation for a disability
- Participating in Union activity
- Requesting FMLA leave
- Requesting leave under Washington’s Domestic Violence Leave Act
Contact Our Seattle Wrongful Termination Lawyers Today
If you feel that your employer terminated your employment based on discrimination or retaliation, call the experienced Seattle wrongful termination lawyers at Emerald Law Group to discuss your claim.
