October 13, 2025
For thirty or forty years, the State of Ohio has elected governors, legislators, and judges who value the freedom of corporations over the protection of workers. Modern day Ohio workers have a lot less protection at work than their parents enjoyed.
In the past, employers had employee handbooks which could be enforced in court. Those employee handbooks required that employers follow progressive discipline instead of skipping right to discharge at the first sign of trouble. Those handbooks required the employer to seriously investigate allegations of wrongdoing instead of arbitrarily deciding to fire someone because it’s easier than investigating the truth.
Sadly, in the 1990s, Ohio’s Supreme Court gutted Ohio employee handbooks, finding that some magical lawyer language could erase an employee’s right to enforce their protections.
The vast majority of Ohio workers are now at-will employees without any protections from an employee handbook. That means they can be fired for virtually any reason.
Here are a few of the countless stupid reasons at-will employees have been fired:
While many Ohio workers assume they are protected from wrongful termination in Ohio just as their parents were, when they are wrongfully terminated, they soon learn how little power they actually have anymore. Nevertheless, there are still a few limited protections against wrongful termination for Ohio workers which we will cover in turn.
Most discharges from employment are not wrongful terminations, even if there was no reason given or the reason is stupid or a lie. Unless you are a union member, have an employment contract, or are a public employee, you are an at-will employee and have very few protections.
Under both Ohio and federal law, it is unlawful for Ohio employers to discharge, suspend, demote, or reduce hours for an employee because of their race, color, nation of origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, or age. There are a couple other small protected classes, but those are the main ones.
If your employment was terminated because of one of these reasons, then you should reach out to the Hurm Law Firm immediately for a free consultation at (216) 860-1922.
An employer getting back at an employee, by itself, is not retaliation. Workplace retaliation means that an employee has filed a complaint of discrimination, served as a witness, or provided evidence in a discrimination case and the employer punished the employee for engaging in those protected activities.
If this applies to your wrongful termination in Ohio, then you should reach out to the Hurm Law Firm immediately for a free consultation at (216) 860-1922.
If you are a union member, you are not an at-will employee and your rights are contained within the collective bargaining agreement. If you happen to have an employment agreement, you are also not an at-will employee and are protected.
Most public employees are similarly protected by employment contracts or union contracts and are not at-will employees. An employer must have a just reason to terminate one of these contract employees, unless that contract explicitly states that employee is at-will.
Whistleblowing – The Ohio Whistleblower Protection Act protects employees who report certain illegal actions by their employers from retaliation. Strict procedural requirements must be followed, including reporting the violation to the employer first, describing the issue in detail, and then giving the employer 24 hours to address it before reporting to a public agency.
Public Policy Exception – Prohibits employers from terminating an employee for reasons that violate a clear, fundamental public policy of the state.
If one of these rare exceptions apply, then you should reach out to the Hurm Law Firm immediately for a free consultation at (216) 860-1922.
Address: P.O. Box 39192, Solon, OH 44139
Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Phone: (216) 860-1922 | Fax: (216) 820-4347