Fired For Turning 40 As Waitstaff? You May Want To Pursue A Lawsuit
You've worked for years as waitstaff at a restaurant and just had your 40th birthday. Unfortunately, your employer celebrated your birthday by firing you. This unfair scenario could be a case of age discrimination, especially if you were fired for "looking too old."
People Over 40 Are Protected
Companies that want their employees to look good—such as restaurants with their waitstaff—may try to fire employees who "look too old" for their position. For example, they may get rid of a female waitress because she has a few white hairs or male waiters who are starting to lose their hair.
This action is very against the law and is something that can be pursued in a lawsuit if it happens to you. As a result, you need to get the official reason that you were fired and examine it to figure out if you were fired for legitimate reasons or for trumped-up nonsense.
Reasonable Reasons Must Not Contribute to Firing
When a person gets hired, their employer typically cannot get rid of them for no reason. In most cases, the employer has to build up a pretty strong case that supports their firing of an employee. For example, a person must have done something like damaging or stealing company property, behaving unethically or immorally, or attacking others in the business.
If you did none of these things and were fired after you turned 40, then you need to seriously consider a lawsuit against your former employer. These types of lawsuits require showing that you did nothing to earn your firing and that your employer was discriminating against you because you turned 40.
Harsh Allegations Against the Employee May Be Voiced
When a fired employee tries to pursue a lawsuit for age discrimination, they may find that they experience a sudden glut of verbal and written abuse from their former employer. For example, they may suddenly be called lazy or be accused of stealing or doing other things that made their firing an absolute necessity.
These tricks are just a few of the ways employers try to fire older employees, justifying their firing with false allegations. This situation can be very tough because it will be emotionally difficult to handle such abuse and to have to defend against such claims. You may find yourself experiencing severe emotional problems and may even want to quit your case.
But don't give up! Being fired for turning 40 is not fair, and nobody should have to suffer this experience. Instead, contact any age discrimination law attorney to learn more about your rights and to keep yourself from serious financial loss.