Attorney At Law
If you have recently lost your job, you may be able to sue your former employer for wrongful termination. Vaziri Law LLC’s experienced, Chicago-based employment law team is ready to hear your side of the story and help you figure out if filing a lawsuit is the right option for you. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to improve the likelihood that your case is successful.
1. Try To Remain Calm
Getting fired is frustrating, but keeping your cool in front of your former employer is critical. Resist the urge to retaliate or lash out, and focus on the steps you need to take to wrap up your employment.
- Follow your former employer’s instructions on how to return physical and electronic property to the company. Document this process or have a witness observe your actions if possible.
- Don’t vent to other employees.
- Don’t post negative information about your employer online — even on your social media accounts.
Everything you do and say after your termination may be important if you file a lawsuit, so do your best to act like a model employee.
2. Gather Important Documents
Begin to pull together some of the evidence that may be important to your case.
- Your employer should provide you official notice of your termination in a document that states the reason(s) they are firing you.
- If you have an official employment contract or any sort of written material describing your job that was given to you when you were hired, gather those documents.
- If your employer has an employee handbook, find your copy of it.
Getting these documents may require you to reach out to your former employer. If you do need to talk to them, do not tell them you are considering filing a lawsuit.
If you have not yet ended your employment and still have access to your employer’s files, make sure that you are not taking or making copies of anything without permission. You should never sneak files out of your office or try to take home sensitive information.
3. Write Down Your Version Of Events
Our brains like to help us feel better by encouraging us to forget bad things that have happened to us. It is therefore important to spend time writing down what you remember about your firing and what led up to it.
Write down:
- Everything you remember from the conversation where you found out you were being fired. What day was it? Who was in the room? Are there specific quotes you can remember?
- Events leading up to your firing that you think are important.
- Lists of people you worked with and your impressions of how they were treated compared to how you were treated.
If you have copies of your employee file, past performance reviews, or notes you took when you met with your employer, gather them to help you jog your memory. They may also be important evidence on their own.
4. Contact Vaziri Law LLC
Under Illinois law, Chicago area employees have a limited window of time to file a lawsuit against a past employer, so it is important to speak to an attorney as soon as you are comfortable doing so.
Vaziri Law LLC’s experienced team of employment law practitioners will listen to your side of the story, and help you figure out if you should sue your ex-employer. Our office is ready to take your call and set up a meeting with our team.