My manager laid me off saying that my job had to be eliminated, but then turns around and hires two more people with the same job title I had. Is there any legal action I can take?

Posted  08-05-2013

Steve Duggan replies:

At the outset, I assume you are in a private sector, non-union job. If so, then there probably isn’t going to be anything you can do about it. Employment at will means that your boss can fire someone any time, for any reason or even no reason at all, so long as they don’t do it for an illegal reason. I know it doesn’t sound fair, or right, but since managers don’t have to have a good reason, they are free to say nothing at all, or even to give a false reason. That being said, if you have any information that the true reason might have been an illegal one, such as race, national origin, disability, age, gender or some other statutorily protected characteristic, or in retaliation for whistle-blowing, then you might have a case. Lying in such a situation could be circumstantial evidence of an illegal motivation. If you think that might be the case, you should consult with an employment attorney.

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