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Wrongful Termination in Houston

There are many unlawful reasons for losing a job, including getting fired in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws, labor laws, or as a form of retaliation. Wrongful termination claims are filed when an employer has fired or laid off an employee for an illegal reason. With such a claim, the former employee can collect compensation for punitive damages and lost wages.

If you need advice on an employment law issue, including wrongful termination, you should speak with a Houston employment lawyer. Houston employment lawyers can assess your legal issue and can tell you how to go about filing a wrongful termination claim. You can find a local lawyer by viewing FindLaw's directory of Houston employment lawyers.


Recently in Wrongful Termination Category

Mainland Tool Employee Sues For Wrongful Termination

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Diane Burnett claims that she was fired from her position at Mainland Tool in Galveston County after she refused to participate in illegal activity. Now, the woman has an employment lawyer and has filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages.

The Southeast Texas Record reports that Diane Burnett saw that Mainland Tool was stealing from its costumers by not refunding invoices that were overpaid. The suit claims that more than 15 clients of the company were due large refunds or future credit. Diane Burnett then allegedly told the owner of Mainland Tool that she would not help him steal from clients. The woman was then terminated from Mainland Tool and claims that the owner even threatened her by saying that she would be arrested.

Worker Claims He was Fired For Filing Workers' Comp Claim

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Through workers' compensation, an employee is often entitled to receive certain benefits when he or she suffers from an occupational disease or accidental personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment. FindLaw states that it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee for filing a workers' compensation claim. In Texas, an employer is also prohibited from telling an employee not to file a workers' compensation claim. Any employee that is terminated or retaliated against should contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information on filing a lawsuit.

A Florida woman who once worked as a manager for a Michael's Arts and Crafts store sued the company after claiming that she was fired because she had cancer. After the trial. there was about five hours of deliberation over two days. The jury ordered that the Texas-based arts and craft chain must pay 47-year-old Kara Jorud $8.1 million.

The Palm Beach Post reports that about half of the $8.1 million judgment was awarded for pain and suffering and the other half was awarded to make Michael's pay for discriminating against an employee with cancer, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

Family Dollar Employee Claims She Was Fired Because of her Asthma

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A former employee of the discount retailer Family Dollar Stores filed a lawsuit against the company in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas after being fired from her position as an assistant store manager. According to the Southeast Texas Record, Frances Pinson was promoted to an assistant manager after working as a cashier. After the promotion, she informed her manager that she suffered from asthma but could still perform the essential functions of her job.

Employee Reaches Settlement With Austin School Board

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An Austin school district's former director of diversity and intercultural relations reached a settlement with the school board earlier this month, where the district will be paying $149,500 to the former employee after a wrongful termination dispute.

The Austin Statesman reports that the settlement money Margarita Decierdo will be receiving is equivalent to about a year's worth of pay and her attorney fees. The woman was a contract employee with the school district and was in the second year of her three-year contract with the district when she was terminated.

Former Employees of Winkler County Hospital Settle Suit

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After multiple rounds of mediation, the two former nurses that filed a claim against Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Texas reached a settlement. The New York Times reports that the two nurses that were fired and criminally prosecuted for reporting allegations of improper medical treatment by Dr. Ronaldo Arafiles at the county hospital, will be splitting a $750,000 payment.

The nurses Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle were acquitted of felony charges of misusing public information earlier this year. Their lawsuit, which named Dr. Arafiles and hospital administrator Stan Wiley as defendants in the suit, in addition to naming the county hospital as a defendant, stated that the two nurses had been subjected to vindictive prosecution and that they had been denied of their First Amendment rights.

Former IT Director Suing Harris County

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Texas employment lawyers have named Harris County in a lawsuit that focuses on the county sheriff's office, where one employee claims that he was fired for simply being a whistleblower.

ABC News reports that the former IT director of the sheriff's office Wilfrido Willie Mata contacted the FBI when an outsider hacked into the county's computer system, even though he was asked to "look the other way" and not tell the county of the hacking. He later disclosed his cooperation with the FBI to the sheriff's office.

An employee at Landtel Communications and Rignet claims that he was wrongfully terminated from his position as a field technician  after he filed for workers compensation benefits, according to the Southeast Texas Record. The employee also claims the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act for failing to pay overtime rates for hours worked in excess of forty hours in a given week.

George Lucas' company is now being criticized by employment lawyers across the country after a California jury awarded a former employee of the company $114,000 in damages in a wrongful termination suit.

The San Francisco based film company brought the Star Wars series and Indiana Jones films into the world, but many people may now be questioning how employees are treated at the film company. The Bay Citizen reports that former employee Julie Veronese sued the company, alleging that she was terminated from her position because she was pregnant.

An interesting U.S. Supreme Court case will soon determine if a company can retaliate against an employee's friends, relatives, family, or spouse after an employee files a discrimination claim. The law currently does not allow for workplace retaliation against people who file discrimination claims, but does not say anything about retaliating against an employee's friend in the workplace. However, Associated Press does state that judges have ruled that the law does not allow people who haven't complained of discrimination to file a retaliation suit.