Legal Question in Employment Law in Maryland

Maryland Labor Rights and Laws

What are illegal reasons for firing an employee? Does discrimination only refer to unjust treatment towards protected groups of people, such as races, sexes, religions etc. or can an individual legally be discriminated against by being treated differently from co-workers? If a policy manual is not a contract, what value does it have in protecting at-will employment worker's rights? What is the ''implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing'' and does it apply in Maryland? Does the retracting of VERBAL agreements by the Administration count as violating an employer promise? If termination was justified by the administration as a possible employee violation of company policy, would siting numerous violations and inconsistencies of policy committed by other employees, department heads and administrators add legal validation to a claim of mistreatment or discrimination etc.? If the breaking of a rule in the companies policy manual could not be avoided without the breaking of a second rule, could this add legal validation to a claim of mistreatment or discrimination etc.?


Asked on 5/29/01, 1:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Holzman Holzman Law Firm, LLC

Re: Maryland Labor Rights and Laws

At-will employees may be terminated with or without cause at any time. Such terminations can be unfair (i.e. termination of one employee who is never late and works hard, while keeping another employee who is lazy and frequently tardy, but who is a friend/relative etc of the boss). "Unfair" terminations MAY NOT violate any statute that protectes against discrimination.

There are many statutes, federal state and local, that prevent discrimination based based on certain "protected classes" of attributes (e.g. race, religion, sex).

As a general rule, "unfair" terminations that do not implicate any of the protected classes will not find remedy within the employment discrimination statutes.

However, there are many other areas that are relevant: (1) breach of contract: (2) negligent misrepresentation; (3) inappropriate retaliation for whistleblowing; (4) civil service issues; (5) union issues); etc.

You seem to have many questions that are of sufficient detail that they cannot be answered in an email posting. You should contact an attorney in your area and be prepared to pay for a one hour consultation to find out what are your rights. It will be worth the money to know where you stand.

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

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Answered on 6/24/01, 12:33 pm


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