Employment Resignation
Hopefully, you have never been fired - that is a discharge or termination. Sometimes, however, an employee has no reasonable alternative to quitting - that is a constructive discharge. The involuntary nature of the employee’s “quit” may enable him or her to claim the constructive discharge as an adverse employment action so as to maintain a claim for employment discrimination. An employee’s reasonable decision to resign because of unendurable working conditions is, for remedial purposes, equated to a formal discharge.
A constructive discharge occurs when an employer indirectly, but deliberately, makes an employee’s working conditions so intolerable that the employee is forced involuntarily to resign. The key points of inquiry are the employer’s intentional conduct and the intolerable level of the employee’s working conditions. The standard for evaluation is objective - how would a reasonable employee behave in the particular employee’s shoes? Subjective feelings as to the intolerable nature of the employee’s position cannot support a finding of constructive discharge.
Establishing Constructive Discharge
In assessing a claim of constructive discharge, individual factors, standing alone, may be insufficient to carry the day. For this reason, the pertinent conditions are aggregated since a reasonable person encounters life’s circumstances cumulatively rather than individually. Some routine workplace events - e.g. a poor performance appraisal, lack of training, or increased job demands - are to be expected and do not support an inference that a reasonable person would be “compelled” to resign. The standard for constructive discharge goes beyond difficult or unpleasant working conditions.
As is so often the case in employment law, the presence of a constructive discharge depends upon the circumstances of the particular employee involved. If you feel that your employer deliberately made your work environment intolerable and that you were forced to quit, you should confer with a seasoned employment law litigator to determine your rights.
Maya Murphy P.C. has proudly been included in the 2024 Edition of Best Law Firms®, ranked among the top firms in the nation. In addition, Managing Partner Joseph C. Maya has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America® 2024 for his work in Employment Law and Education Law in Connecticut. Recognition in Best Lawyers® is awarded to firms and attorneys who demonstrate excellence in the industry, and is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor.
Our firm in Westport, Connecticut serves clients with legal assistance all over the state, including the towns of: Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Bethel, Branford, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Cheshire, Danbury, Darien, Derby, East Haven, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Meriden, Middlebury, Milford, Monroe, Naugatuck, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Haven, Newton, North Branford, North Haven, Norwalk, Orange, Oxford, Prospect, Redding, Ridgefield, Seymour, Shelton, Sherman, Southbury, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Wallingford, Waterbury, West Haven, Weston, Westport, Wilton, and Woodbridge. In addition to assisting clients in Connecticut, our firm handles education law and employment law matters in New York as well.
If you have any questions about employment law or education law in Connecticut, or would like to speak to an attorney about a legal matter, please contact Joseph C. Maya and the other experienced attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. at (203) 221-3100 or JMaya@Mayalaw.com to schedule a free initial consultation today
