Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Employment Law--Can I sue my former employer for wrongful termination?

When I was 8 months pregnant my employer terminated my employment based on a data entry error. They challenged my unemployment claim stating I was fired for misconduct and after 6 months of going through the appeal process with the Dept. of Labor--not receiving benefits-- I was granted unemployment based on the judge's determination that my actions were poor performance, not misconduct and did not rise to the level of misconduct. Based on the DOL determination and being terminated while I was pregnant can I sue my former employer for wrongful termination? My track record with the company included perfect attendance for more than 12 months and stellar reviews; I didn't have any reason to believe that I would be terminated at anytime and the stress (and turmoil) that it caused could have jeopardized my pregnancy.


Asked on 1/24/08, 10:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark S. Moroknek Kelly & Curtis, PLLC.

Re: Employment Law--Can I sue my former employer for wrongful termination?

Based on your description, my opinion is you cannot. In order to bring an action for wrongful discharge in New York, the action must either be based on breach of a written contract of employment for a specific term, or on one of the anti iscrimination/retaliation statutes.

New York is an "employment at will " State, and in the absence of discrimination, or a specific contract, what you describe amounts to contesting unemployment, something they are legally entitled to do.

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Answered on 1/25/08, 10:36 am


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