Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Louisiana

Re: Fired for no reason

Dear LawGuru Friend,

Sorry about your loss of job! That is always a crushing blow to anyone. Nevertheless, maybe you can turn this unfortunate incident to your advantage. Since you got a raise just recently, you must be a good worker and qualified; so hopefully you will find a better job opportunity soon and be glad that you are no longer employed by a crummy place that would treat you so unjustly as you were treated. With that's being said, let me add this:

First of all, I can't disagree with anything that the other lawer Mr. Demmons has advised you. I would add a few things, however, as follows:

My philosoply as a lawyer is "hit back". You have been hit; hit back! It is not so easy to do sometimes, however, in a situations such as yours; for in Louisiana we labor under an anachronistic legal doctrine called "at will employment." Just like you can quit any time you want to, the employer can "quit you" anytime it wants to; that is, unless the employer makes the decision to "quit you" on the basis of your gender, creed, race, national origin, perhaps even sexual orientation. That type of thing gives rise to Civil Rights lawsuits for wrongful termination, etc. From the facts you have given in your short post (question), I do not see any basis for such a Civil Rights action; however, you might want to bring a law suit anyway and attemt to have the courts overturn the "employment at will" doctrine; which needs to be overturned. As things presently stand, Louisiana employers are getting by with "murder" by unjustly firing good employees for any and all flimsy reasons. As I say, the employer has hit you; you ought to hit back. First of all, file a claim for unemployment compensation with the Louisiana Department of Labor, Office of Employment Security. From what you say, you will win unemployment benefits until you find new employment. Secondly, ask youself whether or not you might have suffered a disabling injury recently while in the employment of the employer who fired you. If so, file a claim for Workers Compensation. Of course, there is a built-in conflict between unemployment comp and workers comp, since one assumes disability and the other assumes you are able to work but unable to find a job. I just remembered that LawGuru is not programmed to let us lawyers post long replies, so I will have to cut this one short. However, feel free to post your question or questions again, perhaps with more information. Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, Atty.

Lake Charles, LA

Re: Fired for no reason

Obviously, your questions can't be answered specifically because there is a lot more information that needs to be known. It is, however, legal to fire a person for "no reason." There is usually always SOME reason why an employee is fired, and the key to whether you have any rights is whether that reason was a discriminatory reason. You may or may not have a legitimate claim, it's just impossible to tell from the information you gave. If you are serious about exploring your rights, you should contact an attorney.