You Were Fired. But Was It Legal?

Oklahoma generally follows at-will employment, meaning an employer usually can discharge an employee for any lawful reason or no stated reason. A termination may support a claim when it violates a governing discrimination or retaliation statute, a contract, or Oklahoma's narrow public-policy rule. The elements and remedies depend on the particular claim.

The Burk tort is a narrow wrongful-discharge claim. It generally requires an actual or constructive discharge of an at-will employee, in significant part for a reason that violates a clear Oklahoma public-policy goal, and no adequate statutory remedy protecting that goal. Reporting conduct that appears illegal is not enough by itself. Workers' compensation retaliation is separately governed by 85A O.S. § 7.

Possibly. Under 85A O.S. § 7, an employer may not retaliate when an employee in good faith files a claim, retains a lawyer for a claim, institutes or causes a proceeding, or testifies or is about to testify. The statute supplies its own elements and exclusive remedies for that specified conduct. Viability depends on the protected activity, adverse action, causation, and evidence.

If you have a written employment contract specifying termination procedures or 'for cause' only termination, your employer must follow those terms. Breach of contract claims are separate from at-will exceptions and may provide additional remedies.

Deadlines vary by claim. The EEOC generally identifies a 300-day charge period for many covered Oklahoma discrimination claims, while Oklahoma's state complaint process uses 180 days. A two-year period commonly applies to a Burk tort, but written and oral contract theories, workers' compensation retaliation, leave claims, and other statutes use different rules. Identify the claim before calculating the deadline.

Depending on your claim: back pay from termination to judgment, front pay for future lost earnings, compensatory damages for emotional distress, punitive damages in egregious cases, and attorney's fees in some statutory claims. We document all damages to maximize recovery.