Sometimes, two individuals’ personalities clash. How those individuals handle their personality clashes is very important to their success in their careers.
If you have been involved in a verbal fight at work, you could be facing disciplinary action from your employer. You might have been threatened with termination or probation or you might have already been terminated and are now worried that your reputation following the dispute will harm your chance of finding meaningful employment in your field again. Before you take any action against your employer or your colleagues, contact an experienced employment attorney to discuss your legal rights following your termination. Do not, under any circumstances, threaten your former employer or do anything else that can impair the company’s productivity. Work with an attorney who can handle your case for you – following a termination, a poor decision can ruin your career.
Examine the Reason for the Dispute
In every state except Montana, employers are permitted to terminate employees without notice for any non-discriminatory reason. This is known as “at-will employment.” If your employer fired you because you were involved in a verbal or physical fight with your supervisor or another employee, it has the right to do so.
If you feel that you were fired for a discriminatory reason, you could have grounds for a discrimination claim. For example, if verbal disputes are a regular occurrence in your workplace and you feel that being terminated for your involvement in one was really a termination because of your race, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, religion, or another category protected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), discuss this with your employment attorney.
Do Not Instigate, Do Not Engage
You can be fired for your involvement in a verbal dispute even if you were not responsible for starting it. If you are a victim of bullying, harassment, or outright aggression at the hands of a supervisor or colleague, discuss this with the company’s Human Resources department, your supervisor, and/or the other involved party’s supervisor. Keep a record of the aggression you face in the workplace but do not fight back. Instead, find a way to have the problem resolved either internally or with help from an experienced employment attorney.
Employment Attorneys in New Jersey
The Sattiraju & Tharney, LLP is one of New Jersey and New York’s premier employment law firms. Our firm has a long record of successful case settlements for our clients. If you need legal advice or representation for a workplace dispute, contact our team of experienced New Jersey attorneys today to schedule your initial legal consultation with us.
FAQs About Can I Be Terminated for Disputes in the Office
My business partner is freezing me out and stealing clients. Can I sue them in New Jersey?
Yes. When you start a business or partnership in New Jersey, you and your partners owe each other a strict legal obligation called a “fiduciary duty.” If your partner is secretly taking company opportunities for themselves, hiding financial records, or trying to force you out of the business, they are breaching that duty. You can file a lawsuit to stop their behavior, force a financial audit, and recover the money they cost you.
What happens if a major vendor or client breaches a contract that breaks our office operations?
If a vendor completely fails to deliver specialized equipment or a client refuses to pay for major services, you can sue them for a breach of contract. In New Jersey, you can pursue “compensatory damages” to recover your exact financial losses, aiming to put your business back in the financial position it would have been in if everyone had followed through on their promises.
Can we settle a massive corporate or partnership dispute without a public court battle?
You absolutely can, and it is often smarter for your brand’s reputation. New Jersey business disputes are routinely handled through private mediation or binding arbitration. If your initial business agreement or contract includes an arbitration clause, you might actually be legally required to resolve the issue through a private arbitrator rather than a public jury trial.