Well, for some people it's a time for new beginnings and in the case of others - a new job.
Thing is, any 1st day of any month is a day of new beginnings.
Today's new beginning was one youngish lady with toddler in tow who I met at the city public library the other day.
You know the problem with most public city libraries is that they are generally devoid of anything legal related. Lots of romance novels, young adult mysteries, graphic novels about Batman and the Justice League but try to find anything legal related and you get bupkis.
Anyway, Lady tells me that she recently left her place of employment because her employer was making life at said place of employment too difficult to continue working there and she was now looking for something (at the city public library that has NOTHING legal related in its entire collection) to help her seek retribution against her now former employer.
What, I suspect, Lady was looking for was something related to constructive termination/discharge.
CONSTRUCTIVE TERMINATION occurs when an employee resigns due to intolerable working conditions that were so severe or pervasive that a reasonable person in their position would feel compelled to quit. It is treated legally as if the employer terminated the employee, even though the resignation was voluntary in form.
So, imagine you love playing at a playground. But the grown-up who runs the playground starts doing mean things every day:
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They take away your toys on purpose.
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They yell at you for no reason.
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They make you play all alone while other kids get to play together.
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You ask for help, but no one listens.
Now you feel so sad and hurt that you decide, “I don’t want to come to this playground anymore!”
Even though you chose to leave, it was really because the grown-up made it so bad that you had no other choice.
That’s what constructive termination means at work:
“I quit…but it’s because you made my job soooo awful, I had to leave.”
From a more grown-up perspective, in Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders, 542 U.S. 129 (2004), the plaintiff, Nancy Drew Suders, quit her job as a dispatcher for the Pennsylvania State Police in August 1998. She claimed that she had been sexually harassed by her supervisor.
In an 8-1 decision, the SCOTUS ruled that an employee faced with a situation in which a "reasonable person ... would have felt compelled to resign" could bring suit even if she had not filed a report with the employer before resigning.
After Suders, in cases of constructive termination, the "reasonable person" standard asks:
Would a hypothetical, reasonable employee — in the same circumstances — have felt that quitting was the only viable option?
It does not ask whether the actual plaintiff personally felt forced to quit. Instead, courts look at:
- What an average person with the same job, status, and in the same workplace would do,
- Under similar pressures or abusive conditions,
- With ordinary emotional resilience, not hypersensitivity.
To prove a constructive dismissal, an employee must be able to show:
- There’s been a serious breach of their contract of employment, and
- They’ve resigned in response to that breach and not for some other reason.
As to the first limb of this twofold test, the employee must be able to show a fundamental breach of their employment contract. This could be a breach of either an express contractual term or breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence but, in either case, this must be sufficiently serious so as to justify termination of their contract.
As to the second limb of the test, the employee must show that the actions of the employer resulted in their resignation. This often means that the employee’s decision to resign must quickly follow the conduct complained of, unless they’ve made it clear that they’re working under protest.
If there is a marked time gap between the conduct complained of and the employee either lodging a formal grievance or handing in their resignation, an adverse inference can potentially be drawn here from any delay.
The thing is that not all situations qualify as constructive termination and in some instances, courts have considered facts on a case-by-case basis. It is important to know what's what before acting. Some situations which MIGHT qualify as constructive termination where:
1. Demotion Without Cause
An employee is suddenly demoted without explanation or justification. If accompanied by humiliation, pay cuts, or loss of duties, this may cross the line into constructive discharge.
2. Unwarranted Reassignments
A manager repeatedly transfers an employee to undesirable shifts or far-away locations to “encourage” resignation. Example: Moving a single mother from a daytime role to an overnight one without justification.
3. Unrealistic or Punitive Workload
A high-performing employee is suddenly assigned an impossible workload with the goal of setting them up to fail. If this is targeted retaliation (e.g., after reporting harassment), it could support a claim.
4. Exclusion and Isolation
An employee is systematically excluded from meetings, communications, or work-related decisions. If this is retaliatory or based on discrimination, it may be grounds for constructive discharge.
5. Microaggressions or Patterned Disrespect
Persistent subtle discrimination (e.g., sexist jokes, mocking religious beliefs) that creates a hostile work environment. Even if no single act is severe, the cumulative effect can rise to an intolerable level.
6. Ignoring Workplace Harassment
An employer fails to act after multiple reports of harassment (verbal, physical, or online), leaving the employee feeling unsafe or unsupported. Courts often consider employer inaction or retaliation as critical in these cases.
7. Forced “Resignation” Under Pressure
A supervisor tells an employee: “Resign or be fired.” Even if the employee chooses to resign, courts may find this is constructive termination due to coercion.
In case you were wondering, there are a number of REAL cases involving constructive termination, such as:
1. Green v. Brennan, 578 U.S. 547 (2016)Holding: In a federal employment constructive discharge claim, the limitations period begins when the employee resigns, not when the last discriminatory act occurs.
Key Takeaway: This case clarified the timing for filing a claim — constructive discharge claims accrue on the date of resignation, not earlier.
2. Turner v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 7 Cal. 4th 1238, 876 P.2d 1022 (1994)Court: Supreme Court of California
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Facts: Employee resigned alleging intolerable working conditions, including employer inaction over workplace misconduct.
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Holding: The court ruled that constructive termination exists when the employer knowingly permits conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would be forced to resign. The court set the standard for California constructive discharge claims.
Key takeaway: This is the leading California case that explains when resignation counts as wrongful termination.
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit
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Facts: Plaintiff alleged gender discrimination and a hostile work environment, leading her to resign.
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Holding: The court ruled against her, emphasizing that conditions must be objectively intolerable, not just unpleasant or stressful.
Key takeaway: Demonstrates that courts require more than subjective dissatisfaction; conditions must meet an objective threshold of severity.
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
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Facts: A city employee claimed constructive termination after a co-worker groped her and management failed to act.
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Holding: The court found the single incident, though serious, did not create such intolerable conditions as to support constructive discharge.
Key takeaway: Failure to act can sometimes support a claim, but courts still require the conditions to be pervasive or ongoing.
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
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Facts: Employee alleged retaliation, demotion, and emotional stress that forced resignation.
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Holding: The court held that while the workplace was unpleasant, it did not meet the threshold for constructive discharge.
Key takeaway: Not every demotion, reassignment, or unpleasant condition rises to the level of constructive termination.
Bottom line, constructive termination cases can be tricky. Just because you feel that you were treated unfairly doesn't mean that said treatment raises to the "reasonable person" standard. Best to document everything and consult with an attorney before doing anything.
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