Legal Question in Employment Law in Tennessee
wrongful discharge
I was recruited by a company to run their Nashville operation in August of 2004. Over the course of 2005, I increased sales by 11% for this company and exceeded my overall sales budget. However, I did not meet my goals for new business. As a result, they terminated my employement in February 2006 and gave me a 3 months severance package. I was forced to sign a severance agreement to get the package. This company actually relocated me to the Nashville area to do this job. I purchased my home and moved my family here in October 2005. Now, almost a year later, I have been unable to obtain a comparable level position in the Nashville market. The industry is relatively tight -- everyone knows everyone. Rumors were on the street right after I was let go that I was fired and escorted off the property by security and that I had been treated like a criminal. Since being let go, I have discovered that other managers that did not meet the same goal have not lost their jobs. I also know that the manager that replaced me did not meet his sales budget this past year. At the time they let me go, the Nashville district was the top district in the company as a percent of sales budget. Do I have any legal recourse?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: wrongful discharge
The first thing to do is look at your severance agreement and see if it has release language in it. I would be surprised if it did not release all known and unknown claims. If that is the case, then you may not have any recourse for things which happened before you signed the agreement. You may have recourse for things which happened after you signed the agreement, namely if your former employer is spreading lies about you.
Those kinds of cases are called defamation cases and they are very difficult to win. You must prove both that your former employer is telling lies and that the reason you did not get a new job was because of those lies. It can be done and every case is different.
You should have an employment attorney review your agreement to see if there are any holes in it or exactly what your rights are. Do not hesitate the statute of limitations on employment claims are very short. Do not delay.
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