My name is Steve,

I was terminated by my boss. When I asked for something in writing declaring the reason for terminating -- she told me she did not have to give me anything and that she also did not have to have a reason. I found out six seven weeks later in an official document from the state, that the reason for terminating -- this is what she wrote down in the document she returned to the state -- was I made "LEWD COMMENTS TO YOUNG GIRLS" at work.
That was the first I heard of this and she never, ever approached me about this. This came up after I was fired and she made no attempt to substantiate.
I can not find work in this town with this over my head. My wife is questioning if it is true because she is hearing it out on the street.
Do I have any recourse to correct this?

Thank You for any assistance!

excon

Hello Steve:

Yes & No. You have no recourse against being fired. It's true, they can fire you for ANY reason (unless you’re in a class of protected workers), and they don't have to tell you why.

However, they can't lie about it.

Can you correct it?? Well, I dunno if winning a lawsuit is correcting it or not, but that's ALL you'll be able to do – IF that.

There are two parts to a slander lawsuit. You have to 1) prove they're lying, and you have to 2) prove how much it has cost you. I don’t just mean some ethereal amount because of your shattered reputation, either. I mean ACTUAL dollars that you don’t have, that you WOULD have if they didn’t lie. That ain’t easy, but you MIGHT be able to sustain that burden.

Before you get to court, however, you have to hire a lawyer. I doubt that you'll get one to represent you on a contingency basis. That means you'll have to come up with the cash in front. Can you afford to pay, say a $5,000 retainer fee?

I can't help you with your wife.

excon

PS> You might also hire a lawyer for a minimal amount to write this company a letter threatening to sue. That might get 'em to stop.

Fr_Chuck

I will agree, they can fire you for no reason at all, I could go intot he office tomorrrow and just fire any red haired person if I want to. Or anybody with a nose ring just because I wanted to.

So they can just fire you. Now the issue is that they told the state a reason, now they fired you for a reason, you can challenge that reason and ask for a hearing from the state.

JudyKayTee

Everyone has had good answers - but did you make any comments that could have been misconstrued? If you have a hearing your employer will have to provide witnesses.