Legal Question in Employment Law in Iowa

Long story short: Was fired from my job in February, when I filed for Unemployment they fought it, they claimed terminated due to misconduct. In both the Fact Finding and the Appeal, no misconduct was found. (I had been fighting an illness off and on for the past year, it got so bad in Dec 09, and Jan 10 that I was not able to work, they caught me on a technicality and terminated me; worth fighting Wrongful Termination? Not sure.) From the time of the termination, certainly has felt like they have continually attacked my character and integrity; without those qualities, you can't find a job in social services. Suspect that they may be telling possible employers that I was fired for "misconduct" when the truth is that all the "reasons" for my termination were directly related to my, at the time, on-going illness.

I know it's a bit of a longshot, but would I have a case for Defamation of Character, based on the short version of my story? What would I need to have a case?


Asked on 5/10/10, 7:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Luedeman solo practitioner

Unless you have a contract of employment or work under a collective bargaining agreement you can be fired for any reason, good reason, or no reason at all-unless you can tie your termination to a civil tort. The problem you have got in all this is that you have to prove it all in order to recover, and you can't do it on your own.

If they're telling others that you were fired for misconduct, that's factually truthful until you prove otherwise. Getting unemployment because the workforce development administrative law judge did not find misconduct does not, in and of itself, prove the misconduct never happened.

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Answered on 5/18/10, 9:51 am


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