Legal Question in Employment Law in New York
Wrongful termination
My job has recently been terminated after 21 years of service as an administrative secretary for a major hospital. They told me it was due to cutbacks in monies in the health care industry and they could no longer afford a secretary. They needed an administrative assistant instead. I believe it may be due to my age, the fact that I am being treated for major depression and/or because I took 7 weeks Family Leave last year to care for a dying relative. I was also given 8 weeks severance pay but I saw a memo stating that I should receive 21 weeks severanace pay. They told me if I got paid from the Hospital it would have been 21 weeks but because I got paid from the Medical School it was only 8 weeks. Do I have any legal way to address this situation? This termination happened right after they gave me my employee evaluation and I did not want to sign it because I disagreed and wanted to speak to someone higher up. I did and now i don't have a job.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Wrongful termination
If you can prove that your separation was motivated by your age and/or your disability (assuming that your "major depression" is a disability protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act), you may have a valid claim. There are federal and state laws that prohibit age and disability discrimination. To preserve your rights under these laws, you must first file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days from the date that you were informed that your employment was being terminated.
EEOC has offices in NYS in New York City and in Buffalo. You should contact them and file a charge with them as soon as possible.
As for your belief that the separation may have been motivated by your prior Family Medical Leave, you can file a complaint with the United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. This agency is authorized to enforce the Family and Medical Leave Act, including the law's prohibition of retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.
As to the severance issue, there is no NYS law that requires the payment of severance. Is there a written severance policy? If not, any claim to the additional weeks of severance likely would be unsuccessful unless you can show that you were paid less severance because of your age/disability or exercise of FMLA rights.
I believe that you would benefit by consulting with an attorney. To find an attorney who specializes in employment law cases from the employee's perspective, contact the National Employment Lawyers' Association. You can get contact information at their website which is http://www.nela.org.
Good luck.
Steven Modica
Modica & Associates
1777 English Road, Suite Two
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
