Can I Sue My Employer After I Quit?

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you can no longer continue working with your employer and thinking about quitting your job but wonder if you can sue your employer after quitting, you need to know that quitting your job doesn’t stop you from suing your employer.

However, you must have legal reasons to file a lawsuit, and just because you think your manager was unpleasant doesn’t mean you can sue them.

If you want to quit your job because you had to deal with workplace harassment, put up with difficult work conditions, or face constructive discharges, you can sue your employer even after you quit, but there are things you need to consider.

In this article, we are going to discuss why people sue their employers, whether is it worth suing your employer, how you can do it, and more.

Definition of Constructive Discharge

Almost every employee in the United States is at-will (at-will employment), which means you or your employer can end your contract for any legal reason.

What if your manager creates such a toxic workplace that you can take no longer and decide to quit? Do you leave your job by choice, or will you open a lawsuit against your employer for creating such a toxic work environment?

This is exactly what constructive discharge means, which is also called constructive termination.

When your employer creates an intolerable workplace you can no longer work in, you decide to quit your job, which means constructive discharge.

Another definition is that your boss misbehaves you so much that you resign from your job to protect your mental and physical health.

Examples of Constructive Discharge

Now that you know what a constructive discharge is, let’s see some of the most common examples to better understand such situations.

Discrimination

Workplace discrimination happens when your boss mistreats you because of your specific characteristics, such as sex, color, race, religion, disability, nationality, etc.

Retaliation

As an employee, you have the legal right to take part in some protected activities, such as filing a discrimination or harassment complaint. Retaliation is when your boss does something bad to you after noticing you have taken part in such protected activities. 

Harassment

One of the common reasons that creates a toxic and hostile workplace is harassment, and sexual harassment is the most common form of work environment harassment.

Refusing Disability Accommodation

This is one of the most important things that every employer must consider if they have disabled employees because if disabled people don’t have certain facilities for themselves, they can not work properly. 

As an example, if you, as a disabled employee, use a wheelchair, you need a handicapped parking space, and if the employer refuses such accommodations, they can make your job into a nightmare.

Breach of Contract

Another example of constructive discharge is when your employer breaches your employment contract, although they can’t do that.

Imagine your employment contract says that your manager can cut your hours if you show up late more than three times a month, but they cut your hours after the first time.

Can I Sue My Employer For Constructive Discharge After I Quit

Yes, you are free to sue your employer for constructive discharge even after you quit, but the key point is that you have a limited time to open a lawsuit against your employer.

This limited amount of time for filing a claim is what lawyers call a statute of limitations, which depends on federal and state laws of where you live.

When you want to sue your employer for constructive discharge, you need to know that laws can vary based on the time clock starts; it means that sometimes it is based on the date you resigned from your job or the date of your employer’s last illegal action.

Therefore, if you want to sue your employer before or after quitting your job, it is essential to contact an experienced employment lawyer to help you along the way.

Common Reasons Employees Sue Their Employer

There are different reasons you can sue your employer; however, certain things are the most common ones on the list.

For example, unpaid wages, human rights violations, discrimination, traditional torts, wrongful dismissal, etc.

One of the most common reasons that usually comes up between employees and employers is wrongful dismissal, and most employees sue their managers because they believe they got fired unreasonably. 

Employers need to know that when they fire an employee without a cause, they are owed severance, and the exact amount of this severance must be included in their employment contract; note that wrongful dismissal increases the severance amount.

Is It Worth to Sue Your Employer When You Quit?

If you want to sue your employer but are not sure if it’s worth it or not, the first thing you need to know is that there is no illegal issue about suing your employer, but it may not be the right decision in some situations because there are some upside and downsides.

When you sue your employer, you can recover damages, such as lost benefits, unpaid wages, get money for workplace emotional distress, etc.

Therefore, if you want to sue your employer to recover such items, you can ensure you are making the right decision, but if you don’t care about any of them and just want to do this out of rage, we highly recommend avoiding suing because it doesn’t worth it and is just a waste of time.

Disadvantages of Suing Your Employer

One of the major disadvantages of suing your employer is that it may affect your chances of working with better employers in the future because one of the main reasons some managers reject resumes is they notice that the employee sued their former boss.

Another downside of suing your employer is the costs of opening a lawsuit, which can cost you more than you think. That is why you need to contact an employment attorney so they can help you understand if suing your employer is the right decision.

FAQs

1- When can’t I sue my employer?

Unless you quit your job for the specific reasons we mentioned earlier, you have no legal right to sue your employer. Note that if you sue your employer for nonsense reasons after you quit, the process can be very difficult. So, make sure you are suing your employer at the right time for legal reasons.

2- Can my boss talk behind me to other employees if I sue them?

Talking about employees after they quit or sue is an unprofessional act for employers to do, and it can cause distrust among other employees.

However, doing such a thing depends on your manager’s behavior; if you have sued your employer for his/her actions, it is natural to expect them to talk behind you!

Conclusion

Long story short, you can sue your employer after you quit because protecting employee rights in workplaces is essential in helping people work in safe and healthy places and avoid employers taking advantage of their workers.

Remember that as an employee, you have full rights to work in an environment that is free of any constructive discharges.

Keep in mind that you need to be aware of your employment rights and the terms mentioned on your employment contract to know what you owed if you need to sue your employer or the company you are working with.

Finally, if you still need help and want to ensure that you can sue your employer after you quit, it is better to consult a lawyer and get help.