Suing your employer and quitting your job don’t always have to go hand-in-hand. A lot of people think that voluntarily leaving their employer is a prerequisite for suing them or that they should quit now because they might get fired because of the lawsuit.
Fortunately, neither of these things is true – although, your attorney may advise you to leave your job if he or she believes staying can adversely affect your case. If you are still employed at the time that you are suing your employer for violating your rights – be it a claim involving discrimination, sexual harassment, wage and hour law violations, etc. – whether or not you want to keep your job while the lawsuit is being fought is entirely up to you.
Retaliation Is Illegal
You might not get warm receptions around the office, but if your employer wants to limit its liability, it should refrain from retaliating against you because of the lawsuit. Doing so is against the law. This means that if you like your job and intend to keep it despite your reason to sue, your employer can’t base a decision to terminate you on the fact that you filed a lawsuit against them.
Importantly, the outcome of the lawsuit also has no bearing on whether or not your employer can terminate you. Even if you lost your case against the company, your employer can’t use its victory as a shield or justification to fire you. If they did, it could actually give you strong grounds to pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit, where the damages you could recover may be more substantial than in any other lawsuit.
For more information, get in touch with our attorney today at K2 Employment Law by calling (800) 590-7674.