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Employment lawyers’ advertising often tries to attract clients by using the catchall term, “wrongful termination.” This spreads false comfort by giving the impression that any discharge you believe is “wrongful” or “unfair” will be actionable. Nothing could be further from the truth, and that’s why we focus instead on unlawful termination.
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Ohio is an “employment-at-will” state, which means that an employee can be fired “wrongfully,” with or without notice, at any time, for any reason, for the wrong reason, for a made-up reason, or for no reason – as long as no contract or statute (federal, state, or otherwise) has been violated. Unlawful termination generally depends on proving that the employer breached a contract – or something very like a contract – or violated the law in some other way by terminating the employment relationship. We say “generally” because there are times when an employee terminates the employment relationship and still has legal rights against the employer based on “constructive discharge,” an unlawful workplace action or condition set in motion by the employer which would cause a reasonable person to quit.
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In its classic form, this claim is based on an express written contract between employer and employee. Many written contracts have definitions of “cause” for termination, and employers may sometimes breach those. Employees without written contracts may still have legal claims for unlawful discharge based on such things as employee handbook provisions, oral promises given by the employer, and employer’s conduct with similarly situated employees. To determine whether such facts are sufficient, the factual background of the termination of employment must be examined closely.
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