Retaliation

It is illegal for employers to fire employees for asserting their rights under the state and federal anti-discrimination laws described above. An employee can bring a retaliation claim even if his or her underlying discrimination claim doesn't pan out. For example, if you fire an employee for complaining that he was not promoted because of his race, you could lose a retaliation lawsuit, even if the court finds that you had legitimate reasons for not promoting the employee and, therefore, did not commit race discrimination.

Refusal to Take a Lie Detector Test

The federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits most employers from firing employees for refusing to take a lie detector test. Many state laws also set out strong prohibitions against using lie detector tests.

Alien Status

The federal Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) prohibits most employers from using an employee's alien status as a reason for terminating that employee, as long as that employee is legally eligible to work in the United States.

Complaining about OSHA Violations

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) makes it illegal for employers to fire employees for complaining that work conditions don't meet state or federal health and safety rules.

Violations of Public Policy

Most states prohibit employers from firing an employee in violation of public policy -- that is, for reasons that most people would find morally or ethically wrong. Of course, morals and ethics can be relative things, so the law will vary from state to state. Some states may prohibit reasons that other states do not.

Despite this relativity, most states agree that the following would violate public policy and would therefore be illegal:

• terminating an employee for refusing to commit an illegal act (such as refusing to falsify insurance claims or lie to government auditors)
• terminating an employee for complaining about an employer's illegal conduct (such as the employer's failure to pay minimum wage), and
• terminating an employee for exercising a legal right (such as voting or taking family leave).

Wrongful Termination Fears

Despite following these guidelines, you might still fear being sued for wrongful termination. You can protect yourself by asking that employee to sign a release, or agreement not to sue.