DocketXDocketX / Fired, laid off, unpaid
Fired, laid off, unpaid. Here is what you can actually do
Most people who feel wronged by an employer never learn what their real options are, so they either do nothing or hire a lawyer for something a free agency complaint or a small claims filing could have handled. Every page here lays out the same honest order: the free agency first, then a demand or internal step, then small claims where it fits, then a lawsuit, and says plainly when each one actually fits.
Losing your job
At-Will Employment Explained
What at-will employment really permits, the handful of illegal reasons that are the except
Open →Constructive Discharge
What constructive discharge actually requires, why it is a genuinely hard claim to win, an
Open →Laid Off Without Notice
Whether an employer can lay you off with zero notice, when advance notice is actually requ
Open →Laid Off: What Now
The practical first steps after a layoff: unemployment benefits, your final paycheck, and
Open →Layoff vs. Fired
Whether your employer calling it a 'layoff' instead of a 'firing' changes your legal right
Open →Reviewing a Severance Agreement
What a severance agreement actually is, why it almost always asks you to waive claims, and
Open →WARN Act Layoff Notice
What the federal WARN Act actually requires (advance notice for larger layoffs at bigger e
Open →Was I Wrongfully Terminated
What wrongful termination actually means, the at-will rule stated plainly, the free federa
Open →Wrongful Demotion
When a demotion is just an unpleasant business decision versus when it crosses into illega
Open →Your Rights in a Mass Layoff
What changes, legally, when a layoff is large: WARN Act notice for bigger employers, how s
Open →Pay and hours
Denied Final Paycheck
What to do when an employer isn't just late but is refusing outright to pay a final payche
Open →Employer Took My Tips
The federal rule that owners and managers generally cannot keep any part of a tip, even on
Open →Meal and Rest Break Violations
What meal and rest break rules actually require (they vary by state, some states have none
Open →Misclassified as an Independent Contractor
The real test for whether you're actually an employee despite being labeled a contractor,
Open →Off-the-Clock Work
Why working before clocking in, after clocking out, or during an unpaid break, when your e
Open →Tip Theft
When taking a share of tips is illegal versus a legal tip pool, and the free federal compl
Open →Unpaid Internship Rules
The real federal test for when an internship can legally be unpaid, why 'we're a nonprofit
Open →Unpaid Overtime
What federal overtime rules actually require, who is and is not exempt, and the free feder
Open →Unpaid Wages
The full picture on unpaid wages, whatever form it takes (short hours, missed pay period,
Open →Unpaid Wages and Final Paycheck
State rules on when a final paycheck is due after you quit or are fired, what an employer
Open →Discrimination and harassment
Age Discrimination in a Layoff
How age discrimination shows up in layoffs specifically (being selected because you're old
Open →Denied a Disability Accommodation
What a reasonable accommodation actually is, when an employer can legally say no (undue ha
Open →Denied a Job Over a Background Check
The federal rules an employer has to follow before using a background check to deny you a
Open →Denied a Promotion Because of Discrimination
When being passed over for a promotion is illegal discrimination versus a normal, if disap
Open →Hostile Work Environment
The real legal bar for a hostile work environment (severe or pervasive conduct tied to a p
Open →Pregnancy Discrimination
What pregnancy discrimination covers (firing, demoting, denying accommodations, or forcing
Open →Racial Discrimination at Work
What racial discrimination actually requires to be illegal versus a workplace that just fe
Open →Sexual Harassment at Work
What legally counts as sexual harassment (quid pro quo and hostile environment), why arbit
Open →Workplace Discrimination
What workplace discrimination actually requires to be illegal, the free federal and state
Open →Retaliation and safety
Blacklisting by a Former Employer
What illegal blacklisting actually looks like versus a bad but honest reference, and the p
Open →Defamation by a Former Employer
What defamation actually requires (a false statement of fact, not just a harsh opinion, th
Open →Denied Family or Medical Leave
Who is actually covered by federal family and medical leave protections (it depends on emp
Open →Fired While on Workers' Comp
Whether an employer can legally fire you while you're receiving workers' compensation, why
Open →Fired for Jury Duty
Why firing someone for serving on a federal jury is against federal law, why state jury se
Open →Fired for Taking Medical Leave
When firing someone during or right after protected medical leave is illegal retaliation v
Open →Military Leave Rights
Federal protections for employees who serve in the military or National Guard and Reserve,
Open →Retaliation for Complaining
What makes punishing an employee for a complaint illegal even when the original complaint
Open →Retaliation for an OSHA Complaint
Why retaliation for raising a workplace safety concern, internally or to OSHA, is illegal
Open →Union Retaliation
What counts as illegal retaliation for union organizing or other protected concerted activ
Open →Voting Leave Rights
Why there is no federal law guaranteeing time off to vote, why this is entirely a state-by
Open →Whistleblower Retaliation
How whistleblower protection actually works (it's a patchwork of different federal laws de
Open →Workplace Retaliation
What counts as illegal workplace retaliation across every kind of protected complaint, dis
Open →Contracts
Employment Contract Breach
What actually counts as breach of an employment contract (most workers don't have one beyo
Open →Forced Arbitration Clauses
How mandatory arbitration clauses work in employment, the one major exception carved out b
Open →Is My Non-Compete Enforceable
Why non-compete enforceability varies enormously by state, from mostly banned to broadly e
Open →How the process works
Contingency Fees in Employment Cases
How a contingency fee actually works (the lawyer only gets paid a percentage if you win or
Open →Federal vs. State Employment Claim
Why many employment protections exist at both the federal and state level simultaneously,
Open →How to File a DOL Wage Complaint
The practical, step-by-step process for filing an unpaid-wage or overtime complaint with t
Open →How to File an EEOC Charge
The practical, step-by-step process for filing a discrimination charge with the EEOC, what
Open →Right-to-Work Explained
Why 'right-to-work' is about union dues, not job security, despite how it sounds, and why
Open →Small Claims vs. an Employment Lawsuit
The honest dividing line between what small claims court can handle and what needs a full
Open →Statute of Limitations for Employment Claims
Why every employment claim has its own deadline, why those deadlines are often shorter tha
Open →Suing Your Employer
The honest, ordered set of options before a lawsuit against your employer: which free agen
Open →What Is a Right-to-Sue Letter
Why federal discrimination claims generally can't go straight to a lawsuit, what a right-t
Open →What an Employment Lawyer Actually Costs
The real, honest breakdown of how employment lawyers charge, contingency versus hourly ver
Open →You don't need a lawyer to start
You are allowed to do this yourself
A regulator complaint, and for pay disputes small claims court, are both built for people without lawyers. Read our pro se guide for how self-representation actually works, our what happened at work triage tool if you are not even sure what category this falls into, and if a lawyer's cost is the blocker at any stage, our can't-afford-a-lawyer triage covers every free and low-cost path, including legal aid.
Not legal advice and not a law firm. We don't predict outcomes, and deadlines and dollar thresholds vary by state and by claim, check your state's page before you rely on any number. If you can get a lawyer or free legal aid, do: start at lsc.gov.