Answers Posted By Jamshyd (Jim) Zadeh

Answer to Fired for something a co-worker did -- any remedies?

Was discrimination involved?

Texas is an employment at will state which means you can be hired and fired for any reason or no reason at all unless you had an employment contract or you were fired for a discriminatory reason that you can prove (i.e.,sex, sexual harassment, religion, disability, race, national origin or age). If you feel you were fired for a discriminatory reason you must contact and make a written complaint with the EEOC or Texas Commission on Human Rights within 180 days of the last discriminatory act or else your claim could be lost. I would need more information but it appears you were fired for a non-discriminatory reason. If you feel you were fired for a discriminatory reason, I would recommend contacting the National Employment Lawyers Association and see if they can recommend someone in the Houston area. Good luck.

posted Feb 21, 2001 09:52 AM [EST]

Answer to Fired for email use without any policy against it.

At-will employment offers little protection

I am not sure what you mean by terminated for e-mail. I can tell you that, unless you have a contract with your employer, Texas is an "employmet at will"state which means you can be fired"at will" unless you fall into an exception, such as you were fired because of race, national origin, religion, disabilty, sexual harassment, gender or "whistleblowing". I do not know if your claim falls into any of those categories. If you believe you do, then you need to contact the Texas Commision on Human Rights or Equal Employment Opportunity Commision as soon as possible to file a complaint.

posted Feb 21, 2001 09:51 AM [EST]