Terminated for false accusations.

[Carrilloer]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon. A coworker called in sick in a Monday because I pushed and injured him the previous Friday. I didn't touch him but HR and said they had it on video and I received a Final Warning. Then a different coworker said they saw me operating equipment without a company issued license but she was mistaken. No one had operated the equipment.
The injured guy got workman's compensation, is this fraud?
Since I didn't operate any equipment at all for the last three months, do I have a case for wrongful termination?

 

[justalayman]

No you don't. Wrongful termination does not mean unfair termination but unlawful termination. There are a variety of issues that could make a termination unlawful but nothing you have stated is even close. As unfair as it seems, an employer has a right to terminate you in your state for no reason at all. The accusations are meaningless.

 

[cbg]

Agreed. A lot of people think that a wrongful term means that they were fired for something they didn't do, but that is not correct. A wrongful term exists when an employee is fired for a reason prohibited by law. A termination is assumed to be legal in the absence of proof that it is not. It is legal, albeit unfair, for an employer to fire you because they believe you did something even if they are wrong in that belief.

 

[commentator]

The venue in which you work it out whether they did or did not have evidence to terminate you is unemployment insurance. You file a claim, saying you were terminated for something that did not happen. If you are monetarily eligible for benefits, which means you have had covered employment for the past couple of years, roughly, then they'll set up a claim, and you will be asked exactly what happened when you were terminated. Then your employer will be contacted and the issue will be discussed with them. The agency makes an initial decision, and you are given and the employer is given an opportunity to appeal this decision with a hearing whether the claim is approved or denied.

Unemployment insurance is set aside from taxes paid by the employer in case you are put out of work through no fault of your own. If you are fired without a valid misconduct reason, you will be be likely to be determined to be qualified for unemployment even if you are fired. This would give you something that you can be paid while you are looking for another job. Whether you are approved or denied benefits has nothing to do with "wrongful" or non-wrongful termination, it just means that they did or did not have a valid misconduct reason they can prove for your termination.