Legal Question in Employment Law in Nevada

I was terminated from my position as a Co Manager at a large bank in Nevada. They terminated me because on my day off I had to go to the branch to get information for a conference call. Since it was my day off and before business hours I took my kids with me. They said I violated company policy and terminated me for the violation. I had never received any write ups or warnings throughout my employment with them. In addition in Jan. my operations specialist asked me to come in on my day off to open the branch because the other employee did not have an alarm code or vault combo. I told her I would have my kids with me and she stated that was fine just bring them with me. My district manager has also had her son in the office before as well as other managers and they were not disciplined or terminated. Can i be fired for a policy I did not know existed? Also i believe my district manager targeted me because I was not part of the clique. This same DM has fired 7 managers in her district within the last 5 months. There are only 16 branches so that is half of the managers. All of us who have been fired were not part of her clique. There were numerous times in the last few months that she reprimanded me because I did not socialize with the other managers outside of work. The managers and DM would frequently go out late after work to drink. I had already explained to her that I am a working mother and attending school full time and I was not able to go out and party. Is it legal for her to fire me for something she does as well? Is there any legal action I can take? I did call the regional manager to ask for my job back and she was not aware I had been fired. I gave her the circumstances and she told me the termination stands. She did not seem to care that the DM and many other managers had broken the same policy they said I broke. I also had a question about implied contracts. For the last several months my DM told me on several occasions I was going to be the next Branch Manager. Is a promise of promotion an implied contract? I would appreciate any advice you can give me.


Asked on 4/04/11, 5:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Courtney John Peter Lee, Ltd.

First, it is very doubtful that you will be able to maintain (and prevail) on a breach of implied contract cause of action. In short, you will likely have serious problems demonstrating a contract element called "consideration."

Next, you should immediately apply for unemployment benefits. If you live in the Las Vegas area, you can apply by telephone. Call (702) 486-0350. You can also apply online. Visit detr.state.nv.us. If you are denied benefits, you should contact an attorney immediately.

With regard to "wrongful termination," Nevada is an "at-will" employment state, also known as a "right-to-work" state. Generally, this means that you can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all. There are a few exceptions, however. For example, you may have a viable cause of action if you were terminated based upon, inter alia, your sex, national origin, race, color, religion, age, diability, or sexual orientation. There are also whistleblower protections that can come into play.

Keep in mind, however, that not all discrimination is unlawful. For example, an employer can discriminate based upon instances of tardiness, giving the best shifts to those employees who are tardy the least. If you feel that you have been subjected to unlawful discrimination, you should contact an attorney.

Read more
Answered on 4/05/11, 9:01 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Nevada