{"id":1702,"date":"2018-02-22T22:14:22","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T22:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-labor-employment-law\/?page_id=1702"},"modified":"2023-11-14T19:24:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T19:24:15","slug":"how-long-sue-wrongful-termination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-labor-employment-law\/blog\/how-long-sue-wrongful-termination\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Do You Have to Sue For Wrongful Termination?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Most states protect the right to \u201cat-will<\/a>\u201d employment, meaning employment is a voluntary agreement for both the employer and the employee. Either party is free to sever the employment agreement at any time, for any reason.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an important distinction for employees as it maintains one\u2019s free agency to work wherever they desire, but it can get a little tricky when it comes to why an employer severs the employment agreement. While \u201cat-will\u201d employment allows employers to terminate employees freely, an employer can\u2019t terminate an employee if it infringes on the employee\u2019s rights guaranteed under state and federal law.<\/p>\n

Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Termination<\/h2>\n

In the judicial system, a statute of limitations dictates how long a party has to file a suit or take action against another party. Most of the time, the clock starts ticking the day of the infraction. In this case, that\u2019s the day the employee is terminated.<\/p>\n

When an employee is wrongfully terminated according to federal discrimination laws, the employee has 180 days to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC<\/a>).<\/p>\n

If the employee is wrongfully terminated due to a qualified unpaid leave of absence protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA<\/a>), the employee has up to two years to file a complaint with the Department of Labor\u2019s (DOL<\/a>) Wage and Hour Division (WHD<\/a>). If an employee is wrongfully terminated according to state law, the state of Arizona allows up to one year to file a complaint with the appropriate state commission (ARS 12-541<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Wrongful Termination Cases<\/h2>\n

While there are a number of different circumstances where an employee can be wrongfully terminated, there are five types of cases that are specifically addressed by state and federal law:<\/p>\n