Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts

Re: at will employee terminated for ''just cause''

If you were in a union, the collective bargaining agreement would spell out what "just cause" means. You may have rights to go to arbitration over your termination pursuant to the contract.

If you were not in a union, there may have been an employee manual or handbook which discussed "just cause" and/or various reasons why employees could be terminated. Such a handbook may give you contractual rights, even as an at-will employee, under which you may challenge your termination.

If you were targeted for "making waves" you may have other legal rights protecting you, depending on specifically what it was that you made waves about.

Re: at will employee terminated for ''just cause''

You are correct that at-will employees have no right to their jobs. The remedy for unfair termination is unemployment compensation. If you are denied, request a hearing for the opportunity to demonstrate the evidence you referenced in your question. Also, see if you can demonstrate that other employees were not fired for the same reasons or the same number of complaints even though company policy is that, like you, they should have been terminated.

If the matters you complained about were violations of the law or nursing regulations, you may have a claim for wrongful termination. Any legal proceeding is long, costly and emotionally difficult. Since there is such a RN shortage, you best bet for yourself may be to move on.