Wrongful Termination Of Employment
Many people have heard of the term “employment at will” and mistakenly believe that an employer always may discharge an employee at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause. However, under Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and federal law, there are numerous exceptions to the employment at will rule. These exceptions include federal and state laws prohibiting employment discrimination, laws prohibiting whistle blowing and retaliation for certain protected activities, court created exceptions to employment at will, and rights in individual employment contracts and union contracts or collective bargaining agreements.
Over the past twenty years, I have helped hundreds of employees whose employment was terminated. Descriptions of some of the more memorable cases follow:
Nature of Case | Results | Jurisdiction |
Retaliation; Age Discrimination; Termination of Employment |
Negotiated a settlement and health benefits for one year for a 55 year old marketing director of a Fortune 500 company who was fired less than 6 weeks after he filed a charge of age discrimination against its president who is 15 years younger than him. | United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
Delaware Whistle Blowers’ Protection Act |
Obtained a $300,000 settlement for a town manager fired for reporting the treasurer’s mismanagement of public funds, the police chief’s misappropriation of public resources, and non-resident developers’ acts against the public interest. | Delaware Superior Court, Kent County |
Delaware Whistle Blowers’ Protection Act and Sex and Age Discrimination |
Procured a settlement for a 47 year old female Store Manager of a national pharmacy chain who was fired less than four months after she internally reported a younger male vice president after he unsuccessfully tried to flirt with her, made ageist comments about her age, and physically grabbed her. | United States District Court For the District of Delaware |
Disability and Age Discrimination |
Procured a settlement for a 53 year old department store manager who was fired by her younger district manager four months after she informed her that she had severe arthritis in her hip. | United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
Reverse Sex and Age Discrimination |
Obtained a settlement for a 57 year old male employed by a manufacturer for over 38 years who was discharged and replaced by his younger supervisor’s mistress. | United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
Sexual Harassment; Retaliation; Discharge |
Obtained a settlement for a 28 year old female paralegal who was discharged just 5 months after she reported physical and verbal sexual harassment in the workplace by her male supervisor. | United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
Retaliation; Perceived Disability Discrimination in Employment; Termination of Employment |
Procured a settlement for a purchasing agent who was fired two days after she complained to human resources that her manager’s bullying caused her to have panic attacks. | United States
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
Race Discrimination in State Government Employment |
Won a Motion to Amend a Complaint to include claims of racial discrimination under the federal civil rights laws against racial (42 U.S.C. § 1981) and governmental discrimination (42 U.S.C. § 1983) on behalf of an African-American nurse wrongfully terminated by a State Hospital. | Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County |
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
“Losing your job of many years is an emotional and stressful situation to go through. You made me feel I was not going through it by myself. You are definitely in the right line of work. God bless you and your family. Once again, thank you for taking my case personally.” – BW & TW
“You are the best lawyer I have ever worked with. I won’t forget it.” – MW
“I cannot even begin to express how I am feeling right now. You are an astonishing lawyer. It seemed at first things were looking bleak at the beginning, but with your expertise and persistence, the outcome was extraordinary. It was great!” – LJ
“I am very much impressed on how well the case is going and how very very good John LaRosa is . . . (The Public is very very impressed with John LaRosa also.) John LaRosa is very calm & cool and very professional when he is talking to the public and fighting the case at hand. I have seen and been up against a lot of lawyers in my 20 plus years as a police officer, but . . . John is one of the best I have ever seen.” – WEP
If you believe your employer may have wrongfully terminated your employment, contact me toll free at 888-854-2012 or contact me online to arrange a strategy meeting.