I was fired for taking a vacation, can I sue the company I used to work for.

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. It is perfectly legal for an employer to fire an employee due to "personal issues with [your] boss." The harsh reality is employees and job applicants 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. And an employer can make decisions based on faulty or inaccurate information. An employer has no obligation to warn an employee that he or she is not performing as the employer wants. It’s not a level playing field. An employer hires employees to provide work for its benefit, not for the benefit of the employees. Don't expect the employer to take care of its employees; it doesn’t have to and it rarely does. There are some limitations on what an employer can do, mostly in the areas of public policy (such as discrimination law or whistle blowing), contract law, union-employer labor relations, and constitutional due process for government employees. Please see my guide to at-will employment which should help you understand employment rights: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/an-overview-of-at-will-employment-all-states. After you take a look at the guide, you may be able to identify actions or behavior that fits one of the categories that allows for legal action. If so, an experienced plaintiffs employment attorney may be helpful. If there was an established company policy regarding vacation and you were fired in violation of the policy, you MIGHT be able to persuade the employer to reverse the termination; however, this probably will be based on strategy and diplomacy more than law, because in most cases an employer's policy is difficult to enforce. You may have a claim for promissory estoppel, which is recognized by most states. This doctrine allows a court to enforce a promise in the interest of justice if all of the following elements are present: -- one party makes a gratuitous promise to another (that is, a promise it was not required to make, such as a job offer or approval for vacation); AND -- a second party changes its position, circumstances or actions in reliance on that promise (moves, quits another job, goes on vacation, etc.); AND -- that reliance was reasonable; AND -- the second party was harmed due to its changed position, circumstances or actions. Note this in this case, the court is enforcing the promise, not enforcing a contract. In a promissory estoppel situation, a court could determine the (potential) employer was at fault for causing you to change your life in the expectation of a job. Terms in an offer letter or promise may make a difference. For example, the letter may contain "waffle words," such as "The employer can withdraw this offer at any time" or "This offer does not guarantee employment," or "This offer is contingent on passing a qualifying exam" or other similar language. The interactions between the parties are also significant. It is helpful if there are written communications, such as e-mail messages, that show the employer knew you were relying on the promise. For example, if you told the employer that you were resigning your other job, relocating, or making other changes in your life because of your pending employment with the employer, these communications would support a claim for promissory estoppel. The devil is in the details, so you must present your facts to an attorney in your state who can give you the dedicated attention your situation deserves. Find an attorney at www.nela.org.

Ms. Spencer is an absolute expert in this field and she has provided you with an incredible answer as always. Unfortunately, with CO being an at-will state employers can behave atrociously and in violation of what they have seemingly agreed to and still get away with it. That being said, I do think that Ms. Spencer is correct in claiming that you might have a basis for estoppel based on the fact that they did not object and actually led you to the belief that it was "authorized" and only brought up the claim that is was "unauthorized" after the fact. You might want to shop around for attorneys in the Denver metro area. Some of us are not registered with NELA, but still are competent at employer/employee relations from our backgrounds. I was a former judge, magistrate, and mediator and encountered these cases rather frequently. Good luck.

Generally, you can quit a job for any reason and you can be fired for any reason that does not implicate discrimination on the basis of race, religeon, sex, national origin or other protected class. If you were fired due to personal reasons or for taking a vacation, neither reason supports a lawsuit. If the employer has a binding handbook or policies that restrict their ability to terminate employees, that may give you grounds to challenge the termination. So might a union contract or collective bargaining agreement. The idea of promissory estoppel is an interesting one and may be worth pursuing with an attorney, but the damages are only available to the extent of your reliance. You have to show what promise you were relying on and what you did differently than you would have if you knew they were going to fire you if you took the trip. It may be worth your time to sit down with an experienced employment attorney to discuss your situation in detail.