Looking for new work is part of your responsibility after being unfairly fired.
If you have been illegally fired by your employer, you may think that all that you have to do is wait for the case to settle or for trial. Perhaps both you and your wrongful termination employee believe that your employer was clearly in the wrong, and that you have a good chance of winning the case. You may even think that you can just sit back and wait for a check — but you should be aware doing so could damage your case.
Wrongful termination cases arise whenever an employer fires an employee (or makes work conditions so intolerable that the employee has no choice but to quit) for illegal reasons. Under federal law, it is unlawful to terminate an employee because of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age or disability. State and local law may provide for additional protections, such as making it illegal to fire someone for their sexual orientation or gender identity.
If you have filed a lawsuit against your employer for wrongful termination, you will likely be seeking a number of damages, including for back pay. This number represents that amount of money that you would have received if you had not been wrongfully terminated. In order to get the full amount of back pay damages that you are entitled to, you are required to attempt to find another job. This is known as your duty to mitigate. In other words, you have to take steps to try to reduce your lost wages by trying to find another job. If you fail to do this, then your award for back pay could be reduced as a result.
In the employment law context, the duty to mitigate means that you must make reasonable efforts to find comparable employment. As long as you are making honest, good faith efforts to find another job that is similar to your previous job, then you will likely have fulfilled this duty.
To satisfy the reasonable efforts part of the equation, you must actively seek employment. You can do this by applying for jobs, working with a recruiter and making other efforts. It does not mean that you have to actually be hired — just that you are out looking for work. Your former employer will have to show that there were comparable jobs available, and that you did not make reasonable efforts to get those jobs. If you do manage to find a job after being wrongfully terminated, then the duty to mitigate also requires that you make reasonable efforts to keep it.
What qualifies as a comparable job? In essence, it means a similar job for which you are qualified. The job should have similar salary, benefits, and hours, and require similar skills, background and experience, and be in the same general locale as your former job. You are not required to take employment that is inferior to what you were doing previously, or to move for a new job. For example, if an engineer making six figures was wrongfully terminated, she will not be expected to take a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant as part of her duty to mitigate. She will only be required to look for jobs in her field that are similar to the work she was previously doing.
In practical terms, the duty to mitigate means that after you are wrongfully terminated, you cannot just wait to get a settlement or a jury verdict. You have to be out looking for suitable work. If you do find a job, the salary that you receive there will reduce your back pay award — but if you fail to even look, your back pay award will likely to be reduced as well.
If you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated from your job, contact PLBH today at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com. Our attorneys are highly experienced in wrongful termination cases, and will work hard to ensure that your legal rights are protected.