Wrongful termination cases are an exception to the “at-will” employment doctrine. Most Maryland employees are “at-will” employees—meaning that your employer generally can terminate your employment relationship (i.e., fire you) at any time, and for any reason, even if that reason is arbitrary or unfair.
In practice, the “at-will” principle is limited by federal, state, and local statutes. For example, Maryland employers can’t fire someone because of their race (violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), you can’t fire someone because of their age (violating the The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967), and you can’t fire someone because of their sex or gender (violating the Maryland Human Rights Act, also known as Title 20). These are statutory limitations on the “at-will” employment principle. However, these statutes only apply to some Maryland employees, and some Maryland employers (generally, large employers).
So what happens when you are fired because of your race, age, sex, etc., but for some reason, none of these statutes apply to you? With the assistance of a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer, you can pursue a common law tort claim of wrongful termination against your former employer. A wrongful termination claim is a “last resort” claim, which is basically telling a court, “I know there’s technically no law against what my employer did, but it was still wrong (i.e., violates Maryland public policy).”
Wrongful termination claims are an important, but often misunderstood, facet of Maryland employment law. At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we represent workers with wrongful termination cases in every Maryland circuit court. Contact us today for a consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
In 1981, a landmark Maryland Court of Appeals case, Adler v. American Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (1981), placed an important guardrail on the at-will employment principle, and recognized the legal cause of action we known today in Maryland as wrongful termination.
In Adler v. American Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (1981), the court recognized that an at-will employee in Maryland could bring a tort claim for wrongful termination.
In 1981, a landmark Maryland Court of Appeals case, Adler v. American Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (1981), placed an important guardrail on the at-will employment principle, and recognized the legal cause of action we known today in Maryland as wrongful termination.
Importantly, you can only bring a wrongful termination claim when no other statutory remedy applies. At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we most often see wrongful termination lawsuits brought against small employers (i.e., less than 15 employees), because most state and federal employment laws don’t apply to small employers.
In order to establish a claim for wrongful discharge, a Maryland employee (through their Maryland wrongful termination lawyer) must show by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the employee was discharged; (2) the discharge violated a clear mandate of public policy; and (3) there was a nexus between the employee’s conduct and the employer’s decision to terminate the employee.
To prevail on a wrongful termination claim in Maryland, an employee must show by a preponderance of the evidence that:
the employee was discharged;
the discharge violated a clear mandate of public policy; and
there was a nexus between the employee’s conduct and the employer’s decision to terminate the employee.
The first element, that the employee was discharged, is usually the easiest to prove—if you were fired, check that box.
The second element, the public policy exception, is a more substantial hurdle to clear. Maryland recognizes the tort of wrongful termination only for a termination that violates public policy. A wrongful termination action provides a remedy when an employee has been terminated in clear contravention of public policy and there is no statutory remedy available to address this wrong—in other words, you can only bring a wrongful termination claim if no employment statute applies to your specific situation
But what is a “public policy?” Maryland courts have adopted a narrow definition of public policy, and general only recognize a mandate of public policy when there’s some clear action on behalf of the legislature. Here are two (relatively) recent examples of wrongful termination cases in Maryland where courts addressed this issue:
In Bleich v. Florence Crittenton Serv, 98 Md. App. 123 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1993), a teacher at a program for at-risk children alleged she had been fired because she sent a letter to the police alleging that the program’s policies placed the children at risk of abuse. The teacher was able to bring a claim for wrongful discharge because Maryland law required educators to report suspected child abuse to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
In Kessler v. Equity Management, Inc., 82 Md. App. 577 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1990), an apartment manager alleged a violation of public policy where she was terminated for refusing to comply with her employer’s instructions to enter tenants’ apartments and rummage through their personal effects to gather information that could be used in collecting overdue rent. In this case, the court found that public policy mandated the protection of the tenant’s constitutional right to privacy.
The challenge with wrongful termination claims is that vague public policy interest, no matter how compelling, have been unsuccessful in the absence of a specific statutory or regulatory basis. In other words, a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer will generally look for a state or federal statute that explicitly states the public policy (e.g., “Title VII’s prohibitions on sex discrimination may not apply to this case, but Title VII gives us a clear public policy against sex discrimination.”).
Wrongful termination claims in Maryland require a deep knowledge of both the wrongful termination case law, but also the various “public policies” that can form the basis of a successful claim. Contact us today for a confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
Unlike many employment cases, you can immediately file a lawsuit in Maryland circuit court for a wrongful termination.
The statute of limitations for a wrongful termination claim in Maryland is three years.
As Maryland’s body of wrongful termination laws evolves, there are still some “gray areas” when it comes to wrongful termination in Maryland. For example, it’s still unclear whether a federal law (as opposed to a Maryland state or county law) can be the “public policy” needed to prevail on a wrongful termination claim. It’s also unclear whether you actually need to be “terminated,” or if you can bring a wrongful termination claim when you’ve been wrongfully demoted, reassigned, or otherwise treated poorly at work for doing the right thing.
At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we’re proud to be among the Maryland employment law firms helping to develop this body of law, all through our relentless advocacy on behalf of our clients. If you’ve been wrongfully terminated, contact us today for a confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination attorney.
Yes, you can sue for wrongful termination in Maryland.
In 1981, the Maryland Court of Appeals, in a case called Adler v. American Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (Md. 1981), recognized the common law tort of wrongful termination. While Maryland follows the common law rule that employment relationships are generally “at-will,” meaning you can be fired at any time for any reason, Adler established that your employer can’t fire you in violation of a “clear mandate of public policy.”
Suing for wrongful termination in Maryland is relatively straightforward compared to many other types of employment lawsuits—you can hire a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer and immediately file a wrongful termination lawsuit in the appropriate Maryland circuit court (as opposed to other employment claims that require you to first file an administrative complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights).
If you’ve been wrongfully terminated in Maryland, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
A wrongful termination claim in Maryland consists of three elements: (1) the employee was discharged; (2) the discharge violated a clear mandate of public policy; and (3) there was a nexus between the employee’s conduct and the employer’s decision to terminate the employee. See Adler v. American Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (Md. 1981).
In a Maryland jury trial, the trial court (i.e., the judge) initially decides whether a sufficiently clear public policy violation has been identified to allow the case to go to the jury. After that, the jury decides what the employer’s motivation was for the firing. Generally, the bulk of the evidence and argument in a wrongful termination case relates to the “nexus,” or connection between the clear mandate of public policy and the employer’s actual reason for terminating the employee.
At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we pursue wrongful termination cases in every Maryland state and federal court. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
You prove a wrongful termination claim in Maryland by showing that there is a “nexus” between the your protected conduct and your employer’s decision to fire you. In other words, the basis of your employer’s decision must be your protected conduct in either acting or refusing to act in contravention of public policy. Even when a violation of public policy did occur, but was not the actual motivation for your termination, you cannot prove a wrongful termination claim in Maryland.
At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we evaluate every wrongful termination case to determine whether enough evidence exists to persuade a Maryland jury or judge. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
The average settlement for wrongful termination lawsuits in Maryland can range from the tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars—but every case is different.
A 2010 study done by Lawyers for Civil Justice found that an average out of court settlement for wrongful termination is about $40,000, and that approximately 10% of cases resulted in a settlement of at least $1 million. As you can see, this is a wide range.
The following factors tend to influence the settlement amount of an wrongful termination case in Maryland:
The facts of the case (e.g., was the wrongful termination particularly outrageous or egregious?)
The evidence available (documents, text messages, emails, etc.)
Your credibility
The skill and work ethic of your Maryland wrongful termination lawyer
At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we litigate every singlewrongful termination case as if it’s going to trial, putting our clients in the strongest possible position to settle or win their case. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
How hard it is to prove a wrongful termination case in Maryland depends on the strength of your evidence. A wrongful termination claim in Maryland consists of three elements: (1) the employee was discharged; (2) the discharge violated a clear mandate of public policy; and (3) there was a nexus between the employee’s conduct and the employer’s decision to terminate the employee. See Adler v. American Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (Md. 1981).
In a Maryland jury trial, the trial court (i.e., the judge) initially decides whether a sufficiently clear public policy violation has been identified to allow the case to go to the jury. After that, the jury decides what the employer’s motivation was for the firing.
Generally, the bulk of the evidence and argument in a wrongful termination case relates to the “nexus,” or connection between the clear mandate of public policy and the employer’s actual reason for terminating the employee. At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we see most of the focus on “proving” a wrongful termination claim relating to this “nexus”—in other words, what was the real reason that your employer terminated you? The strength of your evidence (documents, witnesses, etc.) determines how hard it is to prove that this nexus exists.
At the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we evaluate every wrongful termination case with an eye towards finding the evidence needed to satisfy a future judge or jury. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
While it’s true that most Maryland employees are “at-will” employees, meaning they can be fired at any time and for any reason, a Maryland employer is not allowed to unfairly fire someone in violation of a clear mandate of public policy (i.e., a written law or statute).
If you’ve been fired unfairly in Maryland, you should (1) document the termination through contemporanous notes and by keeping any letters or documents safe, and (2) contact a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer immediately. While you have a three-year statute of limitations on wrongful termination claims in Maryland, at the Employment Law Center of Maryland, we often see evidence and witness memories degrade sharply over time. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
Yes, you can sue for wrongful termination in Maryland if you were laid off—if you were laid off in violation of a “clear mandate of public policy.”
In 1981, the Maryland Court of Appeals, in a case called Adler v. American Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31 (Md. 1981), recognized the common law tort of wrongful termination, and has not limited it just to firings (it could even apply to demotions or transfers, though it’s a legal gray area for the moment).
If you’ve been wrongfully terminated by way of a layoff in Maryland, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with a Maryland wrongful termination lawyer.
For additional resources on wrongful termination in Maryland, check out the following helpful links:
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