Insights on Ohio’s Wrongful Termination Laws

Determining What Counts as Wrongful Termination in Ohio

In Ohio, wrongful termination refers to employment situations where an individual is fired or laid off in violation of legal rights. However, the applicability of this term is rare. A majority of employment positions in Ohio fall under the West Virginia "at will" law. This means that an employer can terminate an employee for any reason at any time, as long as a specific exception does not apply. Exceptions to the "at will" rule include the following:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – This protects discrimination in employment because of race, religion, sex, or national origin.
Equal Pay Act of 1963 – This prohibits unequal pay based on gender for equal work within the same establishment.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 – This prohibits employment discrimination based on age of those 40 years or older.
American Disabilities Act of 1990 – This prohibits discrimination based on disability.
Ohio Revised Code Section 4112.02 – This protects employment discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, age, national origin, handicap, ancestry, familial status, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
Ohio Fair Employment Practices Act – This requires employers to adopt written policies prohibiting harassment or violence in the workplace.
Ohio Workers Compensation Retaliation Laws – This prohibits an employer from terminating, suspending, threatening, or reducing the pay of an employee who files a claim for injury or occupational disease .
The Ohio Whistleblower Protection Law – This protects public and private sector employees from retaliatory discharge for reporting a violation or suspected violation of the law to the employer or an authority responsible for investigating or prosecuting violations of the law.
Immigration and Nationality Act – This prohibits employment discrimination based on citizenship status, national origin, or immigration status.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – This prohibits the exclusion of individuals from participation in federally funded programs and activities because of race, color, or national origin.
National Labor Relations Act of 1935 – This protects employees’ rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) – This prohibits discrimination against members of uniformed services.
Ohio Statutory Law – This prohibits other specific employer conduct with respect to unreasonable termination of employees.
Each of these exceptions is a statute-based "protected class" of individuals that cannot be terminated by an employer. Sometimes, wrongful termination can be proven by showing violations of other legal rights or duties. Because the list of protected classes is limited under the "at will" rule, some employees are associated with the violation of employee rights that are not within protected classes under the statutes. In those cases, termination may be considered wrongful in violation of other employee rights, such as sexual harassment, enforcement of an employment contract, a covenant not to compete, breach of contract, or reputational damage.

Legal Framework for Wrongful Termination in Ohio

Employees in Ohio work under the employment-at-will doctrine. This means that an employer can fire an employee at any time for any lawful reason, or for no reason at all. However, in recent years, many exceptions to employment-at-will have emerged in the legislature and case law, including but not limited to the following:
Discrimination
Employers are prohibited from terminating an employee based on a protected class. In Ohio, it is illegal for an employer to fire or demote an employee because of race, color, religion, gender, familial status, disability, pregnancy, military status, age (40 or over), or national origin.
Retaliation
Retaliation occurs when an employer takes adverse action against an employee who engaged in some form of protected activity. This can happen when an employer terminates an employee for filing a lawsuit alleging discrimination or sexual harassment. Retaliation may also occur if an employee files a workers’ compensation claim, or refuses to participate in criminal activity perpetrated against the company.
Breach of Contract
An implied contract may be formed between an employee and employer based on oral representations made by the employer. An employee may have a case for wrongful termination if the employer claimed to abide by certain personnel policies and terminated the employee in violation of those policies. For example, if an employee handbook outlines rules and procedures for termination, the employer may have created an implied contract with the employee. If the employer fires the employee contrary to those rules, the employee may have a claim for wrongful termination.
Public policy
If an employer terminates an employee for refusing to act against the law in the course of employment, that termination may be considered wrongful. An employer may not fire an employee who refuses to take part in illegal activity. For example, an employer may not fire an employee who refuses to participate in accounting fraud.
If you think you were wrongfully terminated, you should speak with an employment attorney as soon as possible. There is a finite amount of time in which to file a claim for wrongful termination. Your lawyer will be able to evaluate the details of the situation and determine the best course of action to take.

Navigating Ohio’s At-Will Employment Doctrine

Ohio is an "at will" employment State. So, absent any other agreement, an employer can fire you at any time and for any reason, or for no reason, as long as it’s not based on discrimination against a protected class (e.g., race, gender, age, disability, etc.). This is a source of frustration to many Ohio workers who have been terminated.
The idea behind the at-will doctrine is that it encourages the free hiring and firing of employees to promote the flexibility of Ohio companies to react quickly to a changing marketplace. Likewise, the at-will doctrine encourages employees to be diligent in doing good work for their employer. The benefit of this is that Ohio companies can employ workers at will, unencumbered by long-term commitments or contractual agreements. Conversely, employees are rewarded for their value to the company and for their commitment to remaining productive.
But, there are exceptions to the at-will employment rule. An Ohio employer who fires an employee or terminates the employment relationship under circumstances that are legally unjustified may be found to have wrongfully terminated the employee. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following:
Many of the exceptions to the at-will employment doctrine are outlined in cases decided by Ohio courts over the years. Ohio courts have specifically rejected other exceptions that would otherwise make an employee’s at-will status subject to extensive legal regulations.
At-Will employment doesn’t mean what it sounds like. If you have been fired, reset your expectations and give us call. There is a good chance that you have been wrongfully terminated.

Establishing Evidence in a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

Evidence is the foundation of any successful legal case. In every kind of case, trust and believe that it will be easier to win if you have a good understanding of the types of evidence that may be used to prove the claims.
For a wrongful termination case there is no one type of evidence or group of evidence that proves all such cases. In fact, there are so many types of different factors that a wrongful termination case depends on that it would be impossible to even touch on them all.
However, given the right evidence a wrongful termination case could be proven using a one- or two-sentence declarative statement. For example: "I was fired by my employer on such and such a date and I had not engaged in the protected activity of which I was accused." The problem that most people have with this statement is this: at the time of the statement it is true, but the required elements of a wrongful termination case require more than one or two sentences to explain. That is why the evidence is so important.
The most important types of evidence for a wrongful termination case are those that prove the elements of the case. One type of evidence might be testimony. In many cases, the only evidence available to a plaintiff in a wrongful termination case is testimonial evidence.
That testimony might be from other employees at the business that terminated your employment. It might be from customers. Witnesses can be found in employer’s emails and files, as well as in friendships with employees who worked at the same place as the plaintiff. There is no real limit on the types of evidence that can be found.
Often, it is important to find evidence that proves temporal proximity between the protected activity and the termination of employment . In other words, the less time between the protected act and the termination, the better.
In almost every wrongful discharge case, there is documentation that can be used as evidence. Sometimes it is written, and sometimes it is not. Depending on the situation, evidence could be proven using recordings (video, audio, web cam or phone), or by evidence in the form of documents (emails, file notes, etc.).
One important type of evidence to obtain is written documentation of the events before and during the termination meeting. Written documentation is always helpful in a case, but in a wrongful termination case it is especially important.
In an ideal world, when you have been called into a termination meeting, you will be a lot more worried about the content of the termination meeting than you are about the content of your next memo. It would be great if you could have a camera crew at the meeting, but we all know that is not going to happen.
However, you do have the opportunity to create your own record. Thus, it is very helpful for you to do this in writing. Common sense may also tell you it is important to document your thoughts about what is happening at each stage of the termination process.
As soon as you receive a warning, notice of suspension or termination, it is time to write. You may need to discuss possible future legal action with a lawyer, and this documentation may be critical in your case. When you submit your defense to the accusations, try to make copies of everything you write. You should also be aware of the value of keeping a copy of the written warnings that often accompany termination meetings.

Remedies and Damages for Wrongful Termination

Depending upon the circumstances of an Ohio wrongful termination case, the legal remedies and compensation may differ. However, the goal for an employee who files a lawsuit in the Ohio court system is to recover for damages as well as seek job reinstatement.
Reinstatement-If you obtained your job through application and regular hiring process, the court may order your employer to allow you to return to work. In most cases, the court orders employees to return to the position they held initially.
Back Pay-You can also be awarded all wages owed by your employer for the time you were wrongfully terminated; in addition, legal fees incurred by your legal counsel can also be paid for by your employer.
Damages-The court can award damages due to suffering as a result of the wrongful employment practices, as well as psychological compensation.

Actions to Take if You Believe You Are a Wrongful Termination Victim

If you believe that you may have been wrongfully terminated from your job in Ohio, you should take immediate steps to protect yourself legally. The first step is to learn as much as you can about your employer’s policies regarding firing employees. Take a close look at your employee handbook and your employment agreement. It is also recommended that you consult with an experienced labor attorney before taking any further action. A lawyer will be able to help you determine whether you have grounds to file a complaint against your employer (as well as what kind of complaint you should file). If you and your attorney decide that you have grounds for a complaint , you will then have the option of filing an administrative complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) or with the EEOC, or pursuing a civil lawsuit in the court system. Whatever steps you take, doing so as soon as possible is of the utmost importance. Both state and federal laws prevent individuals from waiting too long to file a complaint or lawsuit for wrongful termination. Any delay could jeopardize your chances of being compensated for the professional and financial harm you suffered as a result of a wrongful termination.