Should I Look for Another Job During a Wrongful Termination Case?

Answer:

A lot of times when I meet with a new client after they’ve been terminated and we’re going to take their case, the question is, “Now what? Where do I go from here?” One of the things that we discuss is you needing to take care of yourself and your family. I encourage people to file for unemployment. The fact that your employer has terminated you doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to unemployment. In fact, if you were wrongfully terminated, the employer shouldn’t be able to wrongfully terminate and claim that you’re not entitled to unemployment. After you file for unemployment, the next step is to start looking for work, assuming you’re able to look for work. If they’re terminating you while you’re out on medical leave, continue with your medical care. Take care of yourself. Get healthy. Once you’re healthy enough to work, or if you were never out because of medical issues, start looking for work. The law expects you to find comparable work. Comparable work is work that’s similar in wage, similar in benefits, and similar in location. While you theoretically don’t have to take any job that comes along, most of my clients want to work, they need to work, and they’ll look for work. While your case is pending, look for work and document that work that you did. If you are able to find work and it’s not perfect, it pays less or the benefits are less, those are one of the remedies that we’ll seek – at your old job, you made X; now you make a little bit less. Your old job had health benefits and this new job doesn’t. It took you six months to find a job that was comparable. For those six months, you’re entitled to that compensation to make you whole. If you get wrongfully terminated, the expectation that you do go find comparable work, to the degree that comparable work isn’t comparable, we’ll find an attorney that will fight for you. Hopefully you can find a better job, one that pays better, has better benefits, so that could be at least one bright issue after being terminated from a job that you didn’t want to be terminated from. If I can answer any of those questions, feel free to give me a call.