When you started your job, you may have signed a special employment contract that dictates the circumstances under which your employment may be terminated. Some of these contracts could leave the issue of “employment termination” open-ended. Others might be general and say that you must be terminated “for cause.” Others might reiterate the current Michigan laws related to firings.
If you’ve been fired, and you suspect that the termination was unfair, the first thing you’ll want to do is determine whether you’ve entered into an employment contract. Your employment contract could be written and it could be oral.
In the case of an oral contract, perhaps your employer verbally promised you that the only way you can be terminated is based on your performance. Or, perhaps your employer promised that your job would endure for a specific period of time. In the case of an oral contract, if you took dated notes related to the conversation that resulted in the oral contract, these notes could play an important role in proving that your oral contract existed.
In the case of a written contract, you will merely need to product the signed document — or email — that establishes the written record that both parties agreed to upon the initiation of your employment. You will also need to explain to the court how your termination violated the written or oral contract in your wrongful termination claims.
Were you wrongfully terminated from your job? Do you feel that you may have been treated unjustly by the way you were fired? You may have the ability to pursue financial compensation by pursuing a wrongful termination claim through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Source: FindLaw, “Your Rights when Losing or Leaving a Job,” accessed Sep. 14, 2017