New York’s employment law protects employees from any form of exploitation. Workers in White Plains, New York, understand that they can only be terminated on certain grounds, such as failure to comply with the company’s regulations. The termination of an employee can be considered a wrongful termination if it is done in retaliation for being a whistleblower or for filing a legal complaint against a co-employee or an employer.
In New York, local residents may remember the Walmart employees who were fired after staging Black Friday protests last year. Based on the report, Walmart retaliated by firing the workers who participated in the protests. According to the National Labor Relations Board, Walmart stores continue to discipline, threaten and terminate employees who participate in protests.
The federal agency is planning to reach an agreement with Walmart, which would either re-hire the fired workers or compensate them for their losses.
Walmart is no stranger to cases like this one. Over the years, the same company was highlighted by workers protesting for higher wages, better hours and other poor practices. When employees are discharged from work, they will most likely face financial challenges. Workers try to avoid this and are sometimes forced not to report any poor practices at work for fear of retaliation.
Workers should understand that their rights are being violated if that worker is fired without a good reason. The person may wish to proceed with a legal action, to voice an opinion and to obtain compensation based on incurred losses.
Here in Westchester, employees who believe that they were wrongfully terminated should take steps to learn their legal rights.
Source: Fox6, “Fired Walmart workers could get jobs back,” Nov. 20, 2013
