Q: What recourse do I have against an employer who lied about why I was fired?
I was hired by the VA medical center in April, having sought employment there after I was unable to resolve issues with the previous employer. I was fired by the VA after they found out I was fired from my previous employer, in part because I didn't disclose my termination, this was inadvertant. They were also given false information regarding that termination and included that in their reason for terminating me.
A: Unclean Hands Doctrine applies according to your facts? If your employment application was not fully candid or truthful that is a serious problem. Did you recover unemployment benefits? The false information would have ideally been addressed during your unemployment hearing where you would have been awarded unemployment benefits but for "gross misconduct." Hopefully you recovered unemployment benefits because if you did not what theory might apply against the VA with what will likely be a gross misconduct defense in court? You do know that the employer only needs a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason to support termination, correct?
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