Can an employer fire you for pending charges in Texas? (2023)

What qualifies as wrongful termination in Texas?

For instance, it would be illegal for an employer to terminate an employee because of race, religion, age or disability discrimination or retaliation. Other examples would include terminating an employee because the employee disclosed she was pregnant, or because the employee made a workplace safety complaint.

If the employer's reason for termination were unlawful, then the employee can bring a wrongful termination claim. This is even if the employee is an at-will employee. If you think you have been wrongfully terminated you might be able to file a lawsuit against your employer and recover damages.

No advance notice of termination or resignation is required. If advance notice of resignation is given, it can be accepted, rejected, or modified by the employer.

Because Texas is an “employment at-will” state, an employer can fire an employee at any time for any lawful reason. Any lawful reason for termination may include a bad reason or no reason at all.

The only way to receive unemployment benefits is to be fired from your job. When you choose to resign and don't receive a severance package, it leaves you with no income. That puts you at a disadvantage as you search for a new job.

To be eligible for benefits based on your job separation, you must be either unemployed or working reduced hours through no fault of your own. Examples include layoff, reduction in hours or wages not related to misconduct, being fired for reasons other than misconduct, or quitting with good cause related to work.

Authorized causes of termination refer to installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment or downsizing, closure or cessation of operation, and disease.

If a prospective employer contacts your previous workplace, your prior employer can legally disclose anything about your employment, including your salary, job duties, vacation days taken, disciplinary action, or concerns about your job performance.

What are my rights as an employee in Texas?

Employees may not be fired for their race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, medical conditions, disabilities, language, marital status, etc. They may also not be fired if there is an “implied contract” with a reasonable expectation of continued employment.

The main signs you're about to get fired

Your boss wants to meet you one-on-one suspiciously often. You feel your boss has become strangely distant. Your coworkers seem to avoid you. They stopped inviting you to important meetings.

If you're unemployed

Usually, a person is considered unemployed if they're over 16 years of age and are actively seeking paid employment. Unemployment can happen either due to being laid off, being fired or resigning from the company. However, eligibility for benefits after resignation differs from the rest.

It's theoretically better for your reputation if you resign because it makes it look like the decision was yours and not your company's. However, if you leave voluntarily, you may not be entitled to the type of unemployment compensation you might be able to receive if you were fired.

Under Texas law, you can get unemployment if you quit for good cause. “Good cause” is a legal term and means more than just a good reason. You typically must show that you had substantial grounds to quit or that your employer's actions forced you to quit.

The amount you receive will depend on your base period wages. The minimum weekly benefit is $69 and the maximum is $521. The Unemployment Benefits Estimator can be used to estimate weekly benefits.

You must have wages in at least two of the four quarters. If you qualified on a prior claim, you must have earned six times your new WBA since your last claim.

Failing to perform the job for which one was hired

Unsatisfactory performance is the primary reason why most employees get fired. Such a reason encompasses a number of specific things that can cause an individual to lose his job.

It's a best practice to have a witness, such as an HR representative, present during termination meetings, when possible. The witness can also take notes during the meeting to document what was said.

What are the three types of termination?

Voluntary termination. Wrongful termination. End of a work contract or temporary employment.

Believe it or not, prospective employers don't look as negatively on candidates who have been fired from jobs as they do on candidates who have voluntarily quit jobs.

Process Termination

Normal exit (voluntary). Error exit (voluntary). Fatal error (involuntary). Killed by another process (involuntary).