How Often Are Wrongful Termination Cases Won?

What Qualifies as Wrongful Termination?

First, let’s clarify what wrongful termination means. Being treated unfairly or getting fired without good cause alone doesn’t necessarily make a termination “wrongful.” Most employees in Florida are employed on an at-will basis, meaning they can be fired at any time, even for a bad reason or no reason at all, as long as it is not an unlawful reason.

For a termination to be illegal, it must violate a law, rule, regulation, or contract. Some common examples of wrongful terminations include:

• Discrimination based on protected characteristics like race, gender, age, disability, religion, etc.
• Retaliation for reporting discrimination, harassment, safety violations, or other illegal conduct
• Breach of an employment contract that limits the reasons you can be fired
• Being fired for taking legally protected leave, like FMLA leave
• Being fired for refusing to commit an illegal act

If your termination doesn’t fit into one of these categories, you may not have a wrongful termination case, even if your employer’s actions seem terribly unfair. Our experienced employment lawyers at BT Law Group can help assess whether your termination may have been unlawful.

Most Employees Don’t Have a Winnable Case

Unfortunately, the vast majority of employees who feel they were wrongfully terminated don’t have a viable legal case.

While workplace disputes and unfair treatment can feel unjust, employment laws only protect against firings that are unlawful because, for example, the action of the employer violates a legal right.

In many cases, employee complaints often center around poor management or rude treatment rather than violations of law. Even when there are indications of unlawful actions, proving a case can be difficult without sufficient evidence, whether it be documentation or witness testimony. As a result, only a small percentage of wrongful termination claims move forward successfully.

Success Rates for Wrongful Termination Cases

Even when employees do have a potentially valid claim and file a lawsuit, the odds of winning are low.

A study by Martindale-Nolo Research found that about 43% of readers with wrongful termination claims received some compensation, either through a settlement or court judgment. For those who had legal representation, 64% received compensation, compared to only 30% of those who pursued claims without a lawyer.

Among those who resolved their case before trial, 10% reached a settlement, 8% won through arbitration or mediation, and 5% resolved their case through other means. This highlights the difficulty of winning wrongful termination cases and the importance of negotiating a settlement when possible.

The harsh reality is that for most terminated employees, a lawsuit is unlikely to be fruitful even when the termination seems blatantly unfair. The law simply doesn’t protect against all “bad” reasons for being fired.

What Makes a Strong, Wrongful Termination Case?

So, what separates a potentially winning case from the many that fail? Some factors are:

• Clear evidence of illegal conduct by the employer
• Discriminatory statements, emails, etc., by managers or leadership
• Shifting or false reasons given for the termination
• Sudden termination after complaining about the employer’s unlawful conduct
• Lack of legitimate justification for the termination, such as performance issues, misconduct, business needs, etc. If the employer has strong evidence the firing was necessary or appropriate, that could undermine a claim of wrongful termination.
• The employer’s financial resources. A big judgment is meaningless if the employer can’t pay it. Cases against large, well-insured employers have a higher chance of recovering.

Beyond these factors, the success of a case can also hinge on the skill of the employee’s attorney, the effectiveness of the employee/plaintiff and witnesses, the knowledge and biases of the jury, the assigned judge’s legal interpretations and philosophies, and pure chance. Going to trial is a roll of the dice to some extent.

What Makes a Wrongful Termination Case Weak?

On the flip side, a case may be unlikely to succeed if it has any (or all) of these weaknesses:

• Little or no concrete evidence of an illegal action besides the employee’s speculation
• Plausible justifications given by employers that seem to be true motives
• Lack of temporal proximity between the protected conduct and the termination
• The case relies heavily on the employee’s uncorroborated testimony
• Sympathetic and credible employer witnesses
• Mistakes or misconduct by the employee that justified discipline/termination

Tips for Employees Considering a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

If you believe you have a wrongful termination case and want to pursue a legal action, here are some tips to consider:

• Talk to an experienced employment lawyer right away to get an honest assessment of your claims. Don’t rely on the opinion of family and friends who are not experienced employment lawyers
• Gather all evidence in your possession ASAP – emails, texts, policies, performance reviews, etc.
• Be completely honest with your attorney about any performance issues, misconduct, conflicts, etc. These will come out eventually.
• If you do move forward with a claim, understand it will be a marathon, not a sprint. Litigations can last years, with many ups and downs. Trust your attorney’s guidance.

Although the actual chances of prevailing on a chance of winning a wrongful termination case are unknown, don’t let that deter you from exploring your options. An employee-side employment attorney can help you determine if you have a case worth fighting for.

If you need guidance on a potential wrongful termination claim in Florida, the attorneys at BT Law Group are here to help. Contact us today to discuss your legal rights and options after a termination.