In some ways, getting laid off can be even more frustrating than getting fired. If you get fired for cause, your boss at least believes that you did something to warrant it. But if you get laid off, you may have been an exemplary employee for years. The company simply needs to downsize, so some employees who haven’t done anything wrong are still going to lose their jobs.
If this happens to you, you may find yourself wondering if it’s an example of wrongful termination. You were counting on this job as your main source of income. This is going to have a significant negative impact on your life. Is it unfair for your employer to take away your job without cause?
Layoffs are typically legal
Most of the time, layoffs are legal. They are not an example of wrongful termination. Your boss likely does not need a reason to fire you if you are an at-will employee.
The thing to watch out for, though, is if the layoff is discriminatory in nature. It should affect all employees equally, but a discriminatory layoff may only affect certain groups. That could be highly illegal.
For example, maybe you and a few of your coworkers all follow the same religion. This is different than the rest of the workforce, including the company owner. If the layoff means that everyone who follows your religion loses their job and everyone else keeps theirs, it may not actually be a layoff. That is just being used as an excuse for religious discrimination, making this a wrongful termination.
Because every case is unique and complex, you must understand what legal steps to take in this situation.