Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington

I live in Washington State.

I retired from the military after 26 years in February 2009. I joined a very small company (2 owners and 3 technicians (including me)) at the beginning of March. They hired me to set up a Quality Management System and help them gain accreditation. They placed me on a 90-day probation, and at the end of the probation period (June 2nd) gave me a luke warm performance review and extended my probation period another 90 days. I did not agree with the review but decided I was so happy to have a job that I would not challenge it and would just work that much harder. On July 17th I came to work and worked a full day and at the end of my shift the boss told me that I was not performing up to standards and fired me on the spot (no notice). I never received any feedback. The only feedback that I got was the performance review in June and the firing on the 17th. I found out that they had arranged a merge with another company who already had a Quality Management System/Accreditation and so they didn't need me anymore. I believe that at the time that I was hired (or shortly there-after) I was their back-up plan just in case the merger fell through. The boss stated that since I was still on probation that they were not required to give me any notice.

Is this true? Do I have any case here for wrongful termination? Lawyer fees start at $150/hour so I wanted to find out if I had a case before I spent the money, as money is VERY tight now!


Asked on 7/22/09, 1:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Cohen

My opinion is that your allegations are sound and have truth to them.

You have a cause of action based upon the bad faith of the employer, which has lied to you; you have reasonably relied upon these representations to your detriment, incurring negative performance reviews in the process.

Read more
Answered on 7/27/09, 5:33 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Washington