How to Write a Grievance Letter for Wrongful Termination

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.

This article has been viewed 113,679 times.

Have you been treated unfairly at work and terminated? If your employer has violated your contract or broken the law, writing a letter to your employer may help you keep your job. While this may sound like a massive task, it’s not as difficult as it may sound. In this article, we’ll show you how to compose an effective grievance letter for wrongful termination.

Grievance Letter for Wrongful Termination Template

Preparing to Write

• If you kept a copy of your employee manual or have not yet been terminated, read your company’s termination policy. In many states, publishing a set of guidelines or procedures that a company must follow when terminating an employee can constitute an employment contract. If your employer did not follow those procedures or policies, they are likely in breach of contract, and you have grounds for a grievance for wrongful termination.

• You belonging to a protected class of people, including people over 40, disabled people, people of any gender, pregnant people, people with certain genetic information, people from a particular national origin, people of a particular race, or people of a particular religion.
• Your participation in governmental services, including jury duty and military duty
• Retaliation for whistleblowing activities or making good-faith complaint with government agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. (Your employer cannot fire you for telling a government agency about laws your employer is breaking.)
• Reasons that are in violation of an employment contract.

• Jokes that were made or tolerated by management regarding the protected class of people to which you belong
• Dates of positive employee reviews with no complaints, letters of reprimand, or other adverse personnel actions.
• Statements made or tolerated by management negatively stereotyping a protected group to which you belong.

Gather supporting documents. If you are still employed but anticipating a wrongful termination, make copies or otherwise store the pertinent parts of the policy manual or your personnel file off site. Be sure you are legally able to take your employee manual home or you are entitled to those parts of your personnel file. If you remove documents that you are not authorized to remove, you could cause problems with any wrongful termination case you may bring in the future. [3] X Research source

• If you have already been terminated, contact the human resources department, your supervisor, or the person who terminated you to request this letter or explanation.
• Consider whether the reason given is valid. Giving a valid reason for termination when it is not the actual reason for the termination is called pretext. If you can show the reason given was only a pretext to cover-up for terminating you for a prohibited reason, you may still have a valid grievance.

Get assistance from your union representative. If you are a member of a union, contact your union representative for assistance. Do this even before termination if you have reason to believe you will soon be terminated. Some collective bargaining agreements have specific steps the company must take prior to terminating covered employees or specific grievance procedures an employee must follow.

Writing the Grievance Letter

• The head of the company’s human resources department
• Your supervisor
• The person who terminated you

• The date and time you were terminated
• The reason, if any, you were given for the termination
• The person who terminated you
• For example: On April 1, 2015, John Doe called me into his office at 9:30 a.m. He told me I was being let go because of too many absences.

• Tell the reason you believe you were terminated
• Tell any contract or policy provisions that were violated
• Tell about any incidents that indicate you were terminated for a prohibited reason
• Discuss any documentation you have that support your position
• For example: My increased absences were allowed based on the Family Medical Leave Act, and should not have been grounds for termination. I submitted the appropriate paperwork to Jane Doe in Human Resources on February 15, 2015, and as of April 8, 2015, I had only used eight days.

• For example: I look forward to hearing back from you by May 15, 2015. If you do not respond, I will seek counsel to determine what further steps I may wish to take.

• You don’t want the letter to convey emotion. You are probably angry or hurt about the termination, but you should remove those and other emotions from your letter. Do not call anybody names or make derogatory remarks about the workplace or your co-workers. Stick to the raw facts of what happened.
• Do not make threats. You should not make any threats to physically retaliate, write bad reviews, tell other people, or even threaten to take legal action. There is a fine line between those types of statements you can and cannot make. Unless you are trained to know where the line between proper statements and coercive or harassing threats is in your area, just make a vague reference that you will consider taking additional steps.

Attach copies of any supporting documentation. Copies of any documents that you discussed in the body of your letter should be attached. Do not send your only copies or the originals, if you have them. You may need your copies later.

Mailing and Following Up

• The postmaster will assist you in filling out the card.
• You will need to have your address and the employer’s address with you.

• Some grievance procedures require you and the company attempt to negotiate a resolution in good faith. If yours does, attend any negotiation conferences with the intent of reaching an agreement, but knowing what type of agreement is not reasonable to you.
• You may want to consult an attorney and/or your union representative prior to these negotiation conferences. An attorney or your union representative can usually help you know what you can reasonable anticipate if your case goes to trial.
• A negotiated severance package is a common result of these negotiations.

• Filing a complaint with a state or federal government agency, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Department of Labor
• Filing suit in court against your employer

Expert Q&A

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1. ↑https://www.findlaw.com/employment/losing-a-job/ten-things-to-think-about-wrongful-discharge.html
2. ↑https://www.eeoc.gov/discrimination-type
3. ↑http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/wrongful-termination-gathering-documentation-32283.html
4. ↑http://humanresources.about.com/od/sample-employer-letter/qt/termination-letter.htm
5. ↑http://www.requestletters.com/home/writing-a-grievance-letter-for-wrongful-termination-with-sample
6. ↑http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/wrongful-termination-gathering-documentation-32283.html
7. ↑https://www.findlaw.com/employment/losing-a-job/wrongful-termination-claims.html
8. ↑https://www.findlaw.com/employment/losing-a-job/ten-things-to-think-about-wrongful-discharge.html

About This Article

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. This article has been viewed 113,679 times.

It can be stressful to deal with being wrongfully terminated, but if you write a thoughtful grievance letter, you may be able to find a resolution. Address your letter to the head of human resources, your supervisor, or the person who terminated you. Begin the letter by summarizing the details of your termination, including when it happened, who did it, and the reason, if any was given. Then, explain why you’re disputing their decision. For example, you might explain that the termination violates company policy or that you believe you were discriminated against. While you shouldn’t make threats, do give them a time frame in which you expect their response. If you have a lot of strong feelings, put the letter away, and wait a couple of days before revising it. This will give you the chance to calm down and make sure your letter sounds professional. While you probably feel hurt about the termination, your employer will take the letter more seriously if it’s factual and unemotional. To learn how to follow up after sending your letter, read more from our Legal co-author.

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