Legal Question in Employment Law in Oregon

Re: Wrongful Termination

In Oregon, as in many other states, employment is "at-will" which means the employer does not have to have a good reason, or even any reason, to terminate. If an employee works under a contract of employment, either individually negotiated or collectively bargained (union), then employment is not at-will, but is governed by the terms of the contract. A "manager decision" can mean many things. It is illegal only if the decision breaches a contract of some sort, is discriminatory on the basis of some protected classification (such as age, race, disability, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, for example), is in retaliation for protected activity (such as whistleblowing, complaining about unpaid wages or overtime, bringing a claim against the employer, etc.), or is done in a particularly abusive way. The starting point to analyze a discharge is to identify the reason for the termination. If the employer won't admit its reason, an employee must speculate about what might have been the cause, and then investigate. An Oregon statute gives employees the right to demand personnel records the employer has used to make the termination decision: ORS 652.750. A records demand might reveal the reason. If an illegal reason cannot be identified, however, the discharge may not be illegal, because under the at-will doctrine an employer is in fact free to terminate for any reason, even a bad or untrue reason, if it is not otherwise illegal. Also, contract rights may arise from policies, oral promises that are specific and upon which an employee specifically and reasonably relied, and possibly in other circumstances. DO NOT DELAY IN ASSERTING YOUR RIGHTS. IF YOU DELAY, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO BRING AN ACTION AGAINST YOUR EMPLOYER. CONSULT AN ATTORNEY WITHOUT DELAY. ALSO, DO NOT RELY ON THIS MESSAGE AS SPECIFIC LEGAL ADVICE. IT IS INTENDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY.

Craig Crispin

Crispin & Associates

1230 SW First Avenue, Suite 300