[Jordan Jade]

My daughter has been working in the cafeteria in our courthouse for over 2 years with the last year being a bit hostile. Her manager was always saying the owners were going to fire her. When she would ask the owners, she was always told she would not be fired. They would call her at 5 am to come in early because the manager had drank too much the night before and would not be able to open. She only took one week vacation in that time to visit her ailing grandparents. My daughter started having some medical problems about 6 months ago, but never missed one day of work, and often worked overtime without the overtime pay. Two weeks ago, I had to take her to the hospital with a very bad headache. They did a CT scan and found a cyst in her brain. My daughter still returned to work the following day. Two days later she was fired. She never went to work late, she never stole from them and was loved by all the employees at the courthouse. This was totally out of the blue. They told her it was because they could not afford to pay her anymore, but we feel it was because of the problem the Er docs found, and the fact that we found the ad they put out looking for help. Do you think my daughter should look for an attorney?

[paraclete]

Yes definitely take legal advice

[AK lawyer]

...but we feel it was because of the problem the Er docs found, and the fact that we found the ad they put out looking for help. ...

And why did she tell them what the doctor found?

You are suggesting that they ran an advertisement looking for someone to replace her and, because you found that ad they decided to replace her? That makes on sense. If they had run the ad, they had already decided to repace her; the fact that you saw the ad could not have prompted their decision to repace her.

[Jordan Jade]

Yes they fired her last week Thursday, and the ad was posted today Sept 9. They claim they fired her because they didn't have money to pay her anymore but they have money to pay a new person?

[smoothy]

They are probibly paying the new person even less. Was she part of a Union?

[ScottGem]

Any question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area. Most US states have very limited wrongful termination laws. In general, employees can be terminated without any reason at any time. The only wrongful terminations are discriminatory. And that's what makes your daughter's case a possibility. If your daughter did tell them about her medical condition and they fired her shortly thereafter. If you can prove the reason they gave her and then show they advertised for a replacement, she might have a case. You will need to consult an attorney to see if there is enough evidence, because this can be very hard to prove.

[mogrann]

Document everything, write everything down she remembers with dates and who was there, do not sign anything they give her to sign, until this is settled keep everything related to that job and future jobs.
I too went through a wrongful dismissal and went to the Human Rights commission (Alberta Canada). I can not comment on how it turned out or anything but will say I wish I would have done the above.

[dontknownuthin]

She needs a lawyer.

[Jordan Jade]

We live in Oregon. Everything at work was OK until the hospital visit and then she was fired. What kind of lawyer do we need?

[ScottGem]

Labor law attorney. But you didn't answer some of our questions.

Oregon is an at will employment statement which means that an employee can be terminated for no reason at all. However, as I said, discrimination can be considered as wrongful. (see Wrongful Termination in Oregon).

Did she tell them about her medical condition? Was she covered by a health insurance policy? What documentation does she have?

[Fr_Chuck]

The issue will be, you will have to prove, they fired her, because of the medical problem. But even then, this is not a protected disability, so they may be able to.

You do need to visit a labor attorney, to see if there is a case.

[ballengerb1]

If she worked more than 40 hours and was not given overtime pay they have violated the law. Have the attorney file a complaint with FLSA.