Wrongful termination

What does “wrongful termination” mean?

Wrongful termination is a discharge that violates a statute, a contract, or a fundamental public policy, not simply one the employee considers unfair.

In an at-will state the question is never whether the employer had a good reason. It is whether the actual reason was an unlawful one: discrimination on a protected characteristic, retaliation for protected activity, or a refusal to break the law.

Timing does a great deal of work in these cases. A termination shortly after a complaint invites the inference that the two are connected, whatever the employer's records say.