I was released from my job in TX because one of my employees claimed I was a racist because I did not spend a lot of time with her. A few months before I places her on administrative leave because of abuse to a child we reviewed on our cameras in our location. Our headquarters decided to keep her & allow her to re-take a lot of training. She has had several write up over the last 7 years she has been employed. I in return have never been written up, had excellent reviews, no complaints from staff & clients. But I was terminated. Do I have a wrongful termination case? I know TX is an at will state, but I feel I was treated unfairly because I have a clean record & I get let go; but the employee with the long record gets to keep her job. Suggestion please?
I am a California attorney and cannot give legal advice in your state. My comments are information only, based on federal law and general legal principles. YOUR STATE MAY HAVE ITS OWN LAWS THAT OFFER SIMILAR OR GREATER PROTECTION. If I mention your state’s laws, it only means I did a quick Internet search and found something that looked relevant. You MUST check with an attorney licensed in your state to learn your rights.
This situation presents an interesting conundrum. Our non-discrimination laws were designed to protect people from discrimination, and all the potential remedies are pointed in that direction. You situation is at odds with the whole goal of the legislation. But perhaps you and an experienced, clever attorney can make a case that YOU were unlawfully discriminated against based on your race, because the employer credited the statements of the other person over your statements, and apparently did so based on race. I'm not sure this would fly without doing some research, but it's a thought.
Two things you should know. First, you should learn a little about at-will employment and what it really means. Employees have very few employment rights, and employers have a lot of leeway in how they choose to run their businesses. In general, an employer can be unfair, obnoxious or bad at management. An employer can discipline or fire an employee based on icorrect information or an erroneous belief. There are some limitations, mostly in the areas of public policy (such as discrimination law), contract law, union-employer labor relations, and constitutional due process. Please look at my guide to at-will employment which may help you understand your employment rights: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/a-short-summary-of-california-at-will-employment.
You may also benefit from learning a little about discrimination law. Many people misunderstand the meaning of employment discrimination. “Discrimination” does not mean an employer has to be fair, respectful or has to make good decisions. Workplace discrimination means the employer treats one person or group differently from others who are not in the same group, but are similarly situated.
The only workplace discrimination that is illegal is discrimination that is against public policy. Public policy refers only to things that are specifically prohibited by a statute (law) enacted by the legislature, or prohibited by a regulation promulgated (established) by a government agency. Under federal law, public policy includes statutes prohibiting discrimination against people in specific protected groups, which include sex, race, national origin, disability, age (40 years and older), religion, marital status, pregnancy and genetic information. Sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination. There is no federal protection for sexual orientation discrimination, but many states provide this protection.
Public policy also protects people who blow the whistle on a matter of public concern, complain about improper wage and hour practices, and a few more rights protected by statute.
An employer cannot change terms of employment or fire an employee if the reason for the change is against the law (against public policy). For example, an employer cannot increase your workload because of your race, sex, national origin, religion, etc. or because you blew the whistle on safety violations.
There are various ways to enforce these rights, depending on the particular public policy involved.
For more information on employment discrimination, please see my guide on this subject: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/what-is-unlawful-employment-discrimination--federal-law?published=true. This may help you see how your situation is quite different from the typical discrimination scenario.
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