Alaska Wrongful Termination Laws

Most states in the U.S. are “at will” work states.  That means that employees can quit a job at any time for any reason.  It also means that employers can terminate an employee at any time for most reasons.  There are some reasons for which specific laws have been enacted protecting employees.  Many of them are federal laws, such as the Federal Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which apply to employees in all states.  Some states have additional laws which expand or add to federal regulations regarding employee rights.  Alaska is an “at will” state, meaning employment can be terminated by employees or employers for any reason that is not specifically outlawed by federal or state laws.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) oversees employment rights and has processes by which employees can file claims or pursue lawsuits for wrongful termination.

Alaska’s Specific Labor Laws

Alaska has initiated a number of state laws expanding the protections against discrimination in employee hiring and firing.  Some of the laws specific to the state of Alaska include the following:

*These laws change often, so consult state statutes for the most up-to-date information.

Alaska Job Discrimination Laws

Alaska has included a number of specific regulations concerning discrimination which federal laws do not address.  In addition to federal laws outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, Alaska includes a number of family, marital, sexual, mental, and disability issues.  If an employee suspects wrongful termination based on discrimination, there are agencies to handle such claims, but the employee has additional rights:

An employee is not prohibited from filing a private lawsuit

Employees’ ability to recover attorneys fees from the defendant at the discretion of the court

Filing a Claim for Wrongful Termination

Every claim for wrongful termination must begin with the local EEOC office.  Employees have 180 days from the date of the violation to file that claim, at which time the EEOC will evaluate the claim and, if appropriate, begin pursing it through the following steps:

• Investigation
• Mediation/Conciliation
• Filing a lawsuit

Legal Remedies for Wrongful Termination

The EEOC is faced with more and more claims for wrongful termination as more civil rights laws have been enacted, both at the federal and state levels.  That means that it is easy to have the 60-day limit pass without remedies for a case filed with that agency.  If that happens, the employee has the option to retain an employee rights lawyer.  That lawyer may advise employees to drop their case, pursue negotiation for remedies, seek arbitration or conciliation, or file a lawsuit.  Some of the remedies possible include reinstatement to the job, back pay, damages for stress or suffering on the part of the employee and/or punitive damages to stop the employer from similar abuse in the future, and in some cases injunctive relief, requiring the employer to write new policies company-wide in order to prevent future abuses. 

In addition, Alaska has specific laws protecting whistleblower activity, imposing a fine of up to $10,000 for abuse.

Local Resources

Commission for Human Rights
Anchorage, AK
907-274-4692
800-478-4692
http://gov.state.ak.us/aschr