Employment Discrimination Lawyer in Westbury, NY

Wrongful Termination Representation for Westbury Employees

Losing your job can be one of the most difficult experiences in an employee's career. It can be even more confusing when you are not sure why you were terminated.

Your employer may tell you that the decision was based on performance. Maybe you were told the company was restructuring. Perhaps you were told that your position was eliminated, that you were not a good fit, or that the company was moving in a different direction.

Sometimes those explanations are legitimate. Employers are generally allowed to make business decisions and terminate employees for lawful reasons.

But what happens when the stated reason does not match what was happening before the termination? Maybe you complained about discrimination shortly before you were fired. Maybe you requested a disability accommodation. Perhaps you reported sexual harassment, complained about unequal treatment, or objected to discriminatory conduct. Or maybe you were terminated after years of strong performance and replaced by someone who does not appear to have been more qualified.

If you work in Westbury, Nassau County, or the surrounding Long Island communities and believe you were wrongfully terminated or fired because of discrimination or retaliation, it is important to understand your rights.

Bashian & Papantoniou, P.C. represents employees facing wrongful termination, retaliation, workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, disability discrimination, age discrimination, race and national-origin discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and other employment matters. Located nearby in Garden City, our attorneys serve employees in Westbury and throughout Nassau County and Long Island.

What Does “Wrongful Termination” Mean?

The phrase “wrongful termination” can mean different things depending on the circumstances. Not every unfair firing is necessarily unlawful.

New York generally follows the employment-at-will doctrine, meaning that an employer can ordinarily terminate an employee at any time for a lawful reason, or even for no stated reason, unless a contract or another legal protection applies.

But there are important exceptions. An employer generally cannot terminate an employee because of a protected characteristic or because the employee engaged in legally protected activity. For example, a termination may raise legal concerns if it was motivated by race, sex, pregnancy, disability, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or another protected characteristic. Retaliation for protected complaints or activity can also be unlawful.

The question is therefore not simply whether the termination felt unfair. The circumstances surrounding the decision, the reason given by the employer, what happened before the firing, and the legal protections involved may all matter.

An Unfair Termination Is Not Always an Illegal Termination

Employees understandably focus on whether the termination was fair. But employment law often asks a different question: whether the termination violated a specific legal protection.

Your employer may have made a decision you strongly disagree with. That does not automatically mean the decision was unlawful. Employers can make mistakes, exercise poor judgment, or make management decisions that seem unreasonable without necessarily violating employment law.

On the other hand, an employer may describe a discriminatory or retaliatory decision as a routine business decision. That is why the facts surrounding the termination matter.

An employee who understands what happened before and after the termination may be in a better position to evaluate whether the employer's explanation is consistent with the full record.

The Reason Your Employer Gives You May Not Be the Whole Story

An employer may tell an employee that the termination was based on performance. But what if the employee had received excellent reviews for years? What if the performance criticism began immediately after the employee complained about discrimination? What if similarly situated employees were not disciplined for comparable conduct?

The employer's explanation is important, but it is not necessarily the end of the analysis. The chronology, documents, performance history, decision-makers, comments, comparators, and other circumstances can help determine whether the stated reason appears consistent with the facts.

An employer may also describe a termination as part of a restructuring or reduction in force. Those business decisions can be legitimate. But questions may arise when the supposedly eliminated work continues, the employee is replaced, or employees outside a protected group are treated differently during the process.

The issue is not whether an employer can ever terminate an employee for performance or business reasons. The question is whether the stated reason is the actual reason and whether an unlawful factor may have influenced the decision.

Wrongful Termination After Reporting Discrimination

One common situation involves an employee who reports discrimination and is then terminated. The employee may have complained about unequal treatment based on race, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or another protected characteristic.

Sometimes the employee reports the problem internally. A complaint may be made to a supervisor, Human Resources, an owner, or another person responsible for addressing workplace concerns. In other situations, the employee may object to discriminatory conduct or participate in an investigation.

The employment relationship then changes. A previously successful employee may begin receiving negative evaluations, be excluded from meetings, lose responsibilities, face increased scrutiny, receive discipline, or eventually be terminated.

Timing alone does not prove retaliation. Employers may take legitimate action after an employee makes a complaint. But when the treatment changes immediately after protected activity, the sequence of events may become important.

Termination After Requesting a Disability Accommodation or Medical Leave

Employees may also face termination after requesting a reasonable accommodation or taking, requesting, or discussing medical or family leave. These situations can involve different legal protections depending on the employee's circumstances and the type of leave or accommodation involved.

An employee may have worked successfully for years before developing a medical condition that requires a change in schedule, temporary modification of duties, time away from work, or another adjustment. After making the request, the employee may suddenly be described as unable to perform the job or as too difficult to accommodate.

An employer may have legitimate concerns about whether an employee can perform essential job functions or whether a requested accommodation can be provided. But a request for accommodation should not simply become a reason to target the employee for termination.

Similar concerns can arise after medical leave. A company may need temporary coverage while an employee is absent. The question is what happens when the employee seeks to return and whether the employer's stated reason for a termination is supported by the circumstances.

Wrongful Termination After Reporting Sexual Harassment

An employee who reports sexual harassment may be particularly concerned about retaliation. A complaint may involve a supervisor, coworker, customer, or another person connected to the workplace. The employee may believe that reporting the conduct will affect relationships with management or coworkers.

After a complaint, the employee may find that the focus shifts away from the alleged misconduct and toward the employee. The employee may be described as difficult, disruptive, overly sensitive, or responsible for workplace tension. Performance issues that were never raised before may suddenly become the basis for discipline.

Employers may investigate complaints and may address legitimate workplace issues at the same time. But the existence of an investigation does not permit an employer to retaliate against an employee for making a protected complaint.

The employee's prior history, the timing of the criticism, who knew about the complaint, and what occurred after the report can all be relevant to understanding the termination.

Wrongful Termination and Age Discrimination

Older employees sometimes experience termination after a series of workplace changes that appear to favor younger workers. A company may begin talking about new energy, fresh perspectives, a younger image, or the need for employees who are more adaptable.

Those statements do not automatically establish age discrimination, and employers may legitimately hire younger employees or reorganize a workforce. The concern is whether age influenced the decision affecting an employee who is legally protected from age discrimination.

An older employee may be replaced by a substantially younger employee, excluded from training, denied opportunities, or subjected to sudden performance criticism. A layoff may also raise questions when employees outside the protected group are treated differently.

The full context matters. A termination that is described as a business decision may deserve closer examination when the employee's age, the treatment of younger coworkers, age-related comments, and the employer's changing explanations all point in the same direction.

Wrongful Termination and Other Forms of Discrimination

Termination can be the final event in a longer pattern of discrimination. An employee may first be denied a promotion because of gender, subjected to racial or national-origin comments, treated differently after announcing a pregnancy, or experience hostility after a religious accommodation request.

The employer may eventually terminate the employee and describe the final decision as unrelated to the earlier events. That explanation may be legitimate. But the termination should not necessarily be viewed in isolation.

Employment disputes often involve overlapping legal issues. A pregnancy discrimination matter may also involve retaliation. A disability matter may involve accommodation and medical leave. A sexual harassment complaint may be followed by retaliation. A termination may involve both a protected characteristic and the employee's opposition to discriminatory conduct.

Understanding the entire employment relationship, rather than looking only at the final conversation in which the employee was fired, can be essential.

Retaliation Can Begin Before You Are Fired

Retaliation is not always a single act. In many situations, the termination is the last step in a sequence that began after the employee engaged in protected activity.

A supervisor may start excluding the employee from meetings. Important responsibilities may be reassigned. The employee may receive unusual scrutiny or be criticized for conduct that was previously accepted. Small issues may be documented until management has created a record supporting a later termination.

Not every negative workplace change is retaliation. The employer may have legitimate concerns. But a sudden change in treatment after a complaint, accommodation request, or other protected activity can provide important context.

Employees should pay attention not only to the final termination but also to what changed after they spoke up.

What If Your Employer Says Your Position Was Eliminated?

Employers sometimes explain a termination by saying that the employee's position was eliminated because of restructuring, a reduction in force, financial conditions, or changing business needs. These explanations can be legitimate.

But employees may reasonably have questions when the work continues and another person begins performing substantially the same duties. The issue may also be more complicated when only certain employees appear to lose their positions or when the employer later changes its explanation.

A genuine restructuring can affect different employees differently based on legitimate business factors. The relevant facts may include who made the decision, what criteria were used, whether those criteria were applied consistently, and what happened to the employee's responsibilities afterward.

Again, the stated reason should be considered, but so should the surrounding evidence.

What Evidence May Help Explain What Happened?

Employees do not necessarily need a single document proving the employer's motive. Employment disputes are often evaluated through a combination of facts.

Performance reviews can show a history of positive work before a sudden change in criticism. Emails and messages may help establish timing. Written complaints can show when the employee reported discrimination or requested an accommodation. Disciplinary records can reveal whether the employer's stated concerns existed before protected activity.

Comparative evidence may also be relevant. How did the employer treat employees who made similar mistakes? Who was retained during a reduction in force? Who received promotions or opportunities? Did other employees who did not complain face the same level of scrutiny?

Every comparison must be evaluated carefully because employees are not always similarly situated. Different roles, supervisors, performance histories, and circumstances may matter. But patterns can become significant when the employer's explanation does not appear to fit the broader record.

What Should a Westbury Employee Do After Being Terminated?

After a termination, employees often feel pressure to move quickly. There may be immediate concerns about income, health insurance, unemployment, and finding another job. At the same time, documents and information related to the termination may become important.

Write down what happened before the termination, including complaints, accommodation requests, discriminatory comments, performance reviews, disciplinary actions, meetings, and changes in responsibilities.

Preserve your termination letter, severance agreement, relevant emails, performance evaluations, and other employment documents that you are legally entitled to retain. Do not alter documents or take confidential company information that you are not legally entitled to possess.

Do not assume that you need to resolve every question before seeking legal advice. A careful review of the chronology may help identify issues that were not obvious when the termination occurred.

Should You Sign a Severance Agreement?

Employees who are terminated are sometimes offered severance in exchange for signing an agreement. A severance agreement may contain a release of employment claims and other provisions affecting your rights.

Depending on the agreement and the employee's age, federal law can impose specific requirements on certain waivers of age-discrimination claims. Other agreements may include deadlines that make an employee feel pressure to sign quickly.

If you believe your termination involved discrimination or retaliation, consider having the agreement reviewed before signing it. Once rights are released, it may be difficult or impossible to undo the agreement.

There is no single strategy that is appropriate for every employee. Before signing a severance agreement or making another irreversible decision, understanding what the document says and what rights may be affected can be important.

Should You Apply for Unemployment?

After losing a job, employees may need to apply for unemployment benefits while considering their legal options. Unemployment eligibility and employment discrimination claims are separate issues, and applying for benefits does not by itself answer whether a termination was lawful.

If you are dealing with both a termination and a potential discrimination claim, it can be useful to understand the distinction between the two processes.

Employees should also be careful and accurate when describing the circumstances of the termination. Different legal proceedings may involve different standards and questions, but the factual record can still become important.

Do Not Assume You Have to Prove the Entire Case Yourself

Employees sometimes believe they need to have a complete collection of evidence before speaking with an attorney. You do not necessarily need to know the legal theory, identify every witness, or prove your case before seeking advice.

An employment attorney can help evaluate what evidence exists, what additional information may be important, and what legal protections may apply. The employee's account of the chronology may itself help identify documents, witnesses, or other facts that should be examined.

Before taking an irreversible step, speaking with an attorney can help an employee understand the legal significance of what has happened and evaluate the available options.

Why Choose Bashian & Papantoniou, P.C.?

Bashian & Papantoniou, P.C. focuses its employment practice on representing employees in wrongful termination, retaliation, and workplace discrimination matters. The firm's employment practice includes race and national-origin discrimination, gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, disability discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, FMLA matters, and other employment disputes.

The firm's employment work addresses wrongful termination and retaliation in the context of discrimination and other protected workplace activity. Its broader practice allows employment disputes to be evaluated in the context of the events that led to the termination rather than looking only at the final decision.

An Employment Law Firm Near Westbury

Bashian & Papantoniou, P.C. is located at 1225 Franklin Avenue, Suite 500, Garden City, NY 11530. The firm's Garden City office serves employees throughout Westbury, Nassau County, and Long Island.

The firm also represents employees in nearby communities including Garden City, Mineola, Carle Place, New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Hempstead, East Meadow, Garden City Park, Uniondale, Rockville Centre, and Lynbrook.

Serving Employees Throughout Westbury and Nassau County

Losing your job can leave you with immediate questions about your income, health insurance, career, and next steps. If you believe the termination was connected to discrimination or retaliation, there may also be important legal questions that need to be addressed.

Understanding what happened and why can be the first step toward determining what options may be available.

Speak With a Westbury Wrongful Termination Lawyer

Maybe you were terminated shortly after complaining about discrimination. Maybe you were fired after requesting a disability accommodation. Maybe you reported sexual harassment and were suddenly told that your performance was a problem. Maybe you were replaced by a substantially younger employee. Or perhaps your employer says your position was eliminated even though the same work continues to be performed.

If something about your termination does not make sense, you do not have to determine on your own whether the decision was unlawful.

Bashian & Papantoniou, P.C. represents employees in Westbury, Nassau County, and throughout Long Island in wrongful termination, retaliation, employment discrimination, and related workplace matters. Our attorneys can review the circumstances, explain the federal and New York employment laws that may apply, and help you understand your options.

To speak with Bashian & Papantoniou, P.C., call (516) 279-1555 or contact our Garden City office to schedule a confidential consultation.

Important Legal Disclaimer

This page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Employment laws are complex, and the laws, standards, procedures, and deadlines that apply depend on the specific facts of each situation. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship with Bashian & Papantoniou, P.C. If you believe your employment rights may have been violated, consult a qualified employment attorney regarding your specific circumstances.