What is wrongful termination of employment?
“Wrongful termination” is not really a legal term – it is used and often misused to encompass a variety of situations in which an employee has been dismissed from employment. In Colorado, as in most states, employment is presumptively “at will,” which means that an employer may discharge an employee at any time for any reason and, correspondingly, an employee may quit the employment at any time for any reason. However, certain reasons for dismissing an employee are illegal and a violation of the employee’s rights. Such reasons include discrimination on the basis of gender (including pregnancy), race, national origin, age, disability and religion. It is also illegal in Colorado to terminate an employee for making a workers’ compensation claim, serving on a jury, or for refusing to comply with an illegal directive of the employer. These are just some examples of exceptions to the employment at will presumption.
