Your new boss seems to have it in for you, and you suspect you know the reason why – and it’s discriminatory and illegal. Just the same, you don’t see any alternative except to polish your resume, put out some feelers for a new position and wait for the ax to fall.
What you do – and don’t do – when you’re finally given a pink slip and ushered out the door can be critical to your future. Here are some tips that can help:
Get all your documentation together and move it off-site
You may have been collecting evidence that supports your claims of discrimination for a while, but you need to step up the pace – and make sure that everything you need is moved to a secure location. Once your boss delivers the final blow, you may not be given an opportunity to return to your desk or be allowed to touch your computer.
Collect your performance reviews, prior accolades, notes about any discriminatory incidents and anything else that you think might be important to your case and get them out of the office.
Do not retaliate or cause a scene
If you intend to bring a wrongful termination lawsuit, don’t blast your employer with the news on the way out the door. Not only will that cause a scene (which could negatively affect your peers’ perceptions of what’s happening), it gives your employer advance warning – and time to try to cover things up.
In addition, you never want to take to social media to try to damage your employer’s name. Nor should you damage any of their property by, for example, deleting your work files or breaking your work laptop before returning it. Your actions need to be above reproach.
Getting fired is nobody’s idea of a good time, but you have legal options when you’ve been the victim of wrongful termination.
