Fired from a Michigan job? Not every termination is “wrongful” — but illegal ones are very real.

Illegal reasons to fire someone in Michigan.

Wrongful termination is an umbrella term. It covers any firing that’s illegal under a specific statute or public policy. The most common categories:

What makes a wrongful termination case actually viable?

Most calls I get aren’t viable wrongful termination cases. Not because the firing was fair — it usually wasn’t — but because Michigan’s at-will rule means “unfair” and “illegal” are not the same thing. Three things have to line up before there’s a case worth filing.

1. A protected category or activity.

Your termination has to tie back to a status the law protects (race, sex, pregnancy, age 40+, disability, religion, national origin) or an activity the law protects (taking FMLA leave, requesting ADA accommodation, reporting harassment or illegal conduct, opposing discrimination). If the firing has no protected-category overlay, Michigan law lets the employer fire you for any reason or no reason at all.

2. Causation — the firing has to be because of the protected thing.

Employers almost never put the real reason on paper. Causation is usually proved by timing (how soon after you raised the issue did they fire you?), comparator treatment (did similarly-situated employees outside your category get treated better?), shifting reasons (the official rationale changes after you push back), and direct evidence (texts, emails, recordings, witnesses). Strong timing alone — fired within days or weeks of a protected complaint — often carries the inference.

3. Evidence you can use, not just remember.

What I need to evaluate a case: the termination letter or final-pay paperwork, your last performance review (especially if it contradicts the firing rationale), texts and emails between you and supervisors, the EEOC charge or right-to-sue letter if you have one, names of coworkers who saw the relevant events, and a one-page timeline of the key dates. If you don’t have all of it, that’s not fatal — call anyway and we’ll figure out what’s reachable in discovery.

How long do you have to file?

Statutes of limitations vary by claim and they are short. The hardest deadline is Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act at 90 days from the adverse action. Federal Title VII / ADA / ADEA require an EEOC charge within 300 days in Michigan. FMLA retaliation: 2 years (3 years for willful violations). Michigan ELCRA: 3 years. Breach of contract: 6 years. If you’re past the 90-day WPA window, there may still be a federal or ELCRA path open — but the longer you wait, the harder the evidence is to recover.

What happens on the call.

Free 15-minute call. I tell you what I see in the facts, what the realistic claims are (or aren’t), what evidence to gather before anything is filed, and whether the case is one I’d take. If I don’t take it, I’ll tell you why and, where possible, point you to someone who handles that work. No pressure to retain — I only take cases I think are real.