Is being terminated just for being the on-site manager’s wife legal?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is being terminated just for being the on-site manager’s wife legal?
My husband hired me to work in his department, with his boss’s knowledge. Now after being there for 1 month (the contract was for 4 months) the HR department had my contract terminated effective immediately. Technically he is paid by one company and I was paid through a contract employment agency. I reported any problems/issues to him but had no other contact with him throughout the day.
Asked on November 10, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The most important issue in determining whether you have any cause of action for improper or illegal termination: did you have an employment contract? If you did, any terms or conditions of that contract guarantying or protecting employment, limiting the reasons you could be fired, or setting out a process for termination may be enforced.
If you did not have a contract, you would be an employee at will. An employee at will may be terminated at any time, for any reason, so you could be fired for being the on-site manager's wife--or just because the employer wanted to fire you. The exceptions would be if you could show that your termination was prompted by discrimination against your race, religion, age over 40, sex, or disability, or was retaliation for bringing certain claims (such as for overtime or that you were discriminated against) or using certain benefits (like worker's compensation or FMLA leave).
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.