People leave jobs every day and for several reasons. Maybe they found a better-paying job, or they simply did not want to continue their career in the field. However, sometimes it is the job that fires them, maybe because they did not like their work, or they were laying people off, or simply because they are engaging in discriminatory behavior.
If your employer has discriminated against you by firing you from the job without valid grounds, you could file a compensation lawsuit against them in court and recover various types of damages. To know how to get started with the process, consult an Austin employee discrimination lawyer.
Types of damages you can get in a wrongful termination case
The purpose of wrongful termination compensation is to compensate the victim for all the wages and other benefits they lost while they were unemployed. It is to make them economically whole as if they were never terminated in the first place.
- Back pay.
Back pay refers to all the wages, bonuses, salary, benefits, and commissions lost during the time the employee was not working for the employer. The court calculates the losses from the date of your termination to the date of the court’s final decision.
- Front pay.
Front pay refers to the compensation if the employer cannot rehire the fired employee back into the company. The difference between front and back pay is that the latter is awarded to the employee, and the employee is taken back by the company. However, when the company is not able to give the job back to the employer, it has to compensate them with front pay.
- Punitive damages.
If you wish to punish your employer for their unlawful activity and put you through so much trouble, you can opt for punitive damages. However, punitive damages are only reserved for a small percentage of cases where the employer’s actions were excessively cruel. Therefore, you may need to discuss it with your attorney whether you qualify or not.
- Job reinstatement as compensation.
Instead of asking for monetary compensation, you could ask your employer to simply give you back your job in the same position in the company.
- Emotional distress.
A job loss can cause immense emotional distress, whether it was a wrongful termination or not. However, putting an innocent employee through trouble for no reason is immoral behavior, and the victim can opt for compensation for emotional distress. Factors like diagnosed depression or anxiety acquired after the job loss can increase compensation.
Contact an experienced attorney to see if you qualify for these damages.