If you think you were fired or not had your contract renewed for an illegal discriminatory reason, and your employer told you a fake reason for the termination and later added another false reason for your termination, you may have grounds for a discrimination claim.
It is illegal to fire an employee in New Jersey, because they are a member of a protected class, such as race, age, sex, disability etc.; or because the employee complained about illegal activities of the employer (see New Jersey Whistleblower Laws Attorney); or complained about not being paid their rightful wages under the NJ Wage Theft Act; or because of the employer’s violating other state or federal statutes.
When an Employer Changes its Explanation for an Employee’s Termination, the Changing Explanations Could Be the Very Thing That Sinks the Employer’s Defense
Unscrupulous employers have become more deviously savvy, frequently devising a plan to avoid a lawsuit over an unlawful firing. A devious employer will sometimes offer the wrongfully terminated employee a changing array of reasons for the termination decision, hoping that the additional offered reason that will ward off the employee’s filing a lawsuit. However, when an employer changes its explanation for an employee’s termination, these shifting reasons could be the very thing that sinks the employer’s defense.
Don’t sit on your rights. If you think your employer unlawfully discriminated against you, you should contact this law office immediately for a free consultation. This law office accepts cases from all over New Jersey and has locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients. Call today for a free consultation.
Shifting Explanations Given for the Termination or Non-rehire Are Evidence of Pretext for Discrimination, Which Will Support an Inference of Discrimination Against Plaintiff
In the employment law context, "pretext" refers to a false or pretended reason offered to hide a true motive or intention of an employer’s action. It’s a reason given by an employer to justify a termination, offered as an excuse used to mask the real reason for the termination or adverse act against the employee. See Employee Performance Evaluations.
It is a well-established legal principle that when an employer changes its explanation for an employee’s termination, these shifting reasons could demonstrate a pretext for discrimination. See NJ Employment Attorney, Employer Thinks Employee Executive is Too Old for Job.
A case on point where the Court found that an employer’s offering different reasons for termination demonstrates a pretext for discrimination is Newhouse v. McCormick & Co., 110 F.3d 635 (1997), an age discrimination case. Here the employer offered various and changing reasons for not hiring the plaintiff. Initially they argued that he was not qualified. They later argued that he was not hired because another applicant who was hired had direct experience with its new customer (this other applicant was younger than the plaintiff). Later the employer argued that this other applicant was hired not so much for his experience with the new customer, but for his ideas about expanding the business. Yet this other younger applicant who was hired testified at trial that during his interview he did not present any ideas for expanding the business. Then the employer offered that this other applicant had performed better in the interview than the plaintiff, but the employer used no objective scoring or ranking devices, so no evidence was presented to corroborate this statement.
In another case which found that shifting reasons was a pretext for discrimination, was against a furniture company where the defendant employer discharged an employee, and a government agency brought an action on the employee's behalf claiming that the employee had been discharged because of his age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. The employer at the agency level initially claimed the employee was fired due to a decrease in duties for his position. A state investigation cast doubt on the employer’s explanation. Therefore, at trial, the employer shifted its explanation, and claimed that the employee was terminated because he was less qualified for retention than comparable employees. The agency argued, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, that the changing of reasons given for the termination revealed a pretext for discrimination.
See NJ Employment Attorney, I Was Put on a PIP: the Dangers of a PIP.
If you resign, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit.
In many instances of discrimination and retaliation, see New Jersey Race Discrimination Lawyer, if you resign, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of resigning, or think you will be fired, or have been fired, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options in the safest way for you.
What You Can Do
If you are being subjected to unlawful workplace discrimination and/or were fired, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation. I have represented numerous employees who were discriminated against and I was successful in recovering multiple six-figure financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering, and moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages. I accept cases from all over New Jersey and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.