What Constitutes Wrongful Termination Under Kentucky Law?

People lose their jobs every day, and most of the time terminations are legal and justifiable. Kentucky is actually an at-will state for employment law purposes. Either an employer or a worker can terminate a work Arrangement at any time for almost any reason.

Due to the at-will employment law, many people in Kentucky fail to recognize when they experience wrongful termination. If your employer violated your rights by firing you for an illegal reason, you could potentially get your job back or ask the courts to impose a financial penalty for their violation of employment laws.

How can you tell if you experienced a wrongful termination?

Your firing had to do with protected activity or characteristics

If your employer found out that you arranged a meeting to talk about unionizing with your coworkers and then they fired you the next Monday, you could potentially make a claim that they took retaliatory steps against you after you engaged in a protected workplace activity.

Similarly, workers who lose their jobs after requesting FMLA leave, reporting sexual harassment or filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits may have lost their jobs because they engaged in a protected workplace activity that should not affect their employment circumstances.

Some companies fire workers not because of what they do but because of who they are. If your employer recently downsized and the majority of the people terminated belonged to the same religion or were over the age of 40, the firing decisions may have involved discrimination. If your employer terminates you based on a protected characteristic like a medical condition or your sex, then their decision to fire you may have been wrongful.

How do you prove wrongful termination?

Your interactions with the company and the timing of your termination will often play a role in your claim. The more documentation you have of engaging in protected workplace behaviors or experiencing discrimination on the job, the easier it may be for you to hold your employer accountable. Even if you can’t imagine going back to work for the company, taking legal action to compensate you for what you have lost and force the business to change its practices.

Learning more about wrongful termination claims can help workers unfairly fired pursue justice.