Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington
Service Letter
I came across a website of a Missouri lawyer who referenced a law in Missouri that says public employees can request a services letter that the employer must provide, which cites the reason the employee left or had their position terminated.
I am wondering if a similar law exists in Washington, since I was discharged from a contract position with several months left on my contract, and I want to pin my old employer down in writing on the reason for which they fired me for purposes of a wrongful termination claim that I would like to bring.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Service Letter
Under RCW 41.06.170(2), if you appeal through the administrative process (within 30 days of your termination), you will be provided with a statement of the reasons you were terminated, provided you qualify to appeal. If you were probationary, or if you were exempt, this may not apply. The meaning of "exempt", when applied to state employees differs fom the meaning when applied to private sector employees, by the way.
What rights you have will depend on whether your were temporary or permanent, whether you were in a state employees' union or not, which agency you were working for, and what your job was.
Have you applied for unemployment? If not, you may want to do so. Your employer will be required to give a reason why you were terminated, although it will be permitted to answer in vague terms.
You may also want to check in with an attorney to make sure your termination was "wrongful", as opposed to unjust and unfair. Many reasons for termination that are unfair and justifiably upsetting are nonetheless legal, and therefore not "wrongful" and will not support a legal claim.
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