Wrongful Termination Settlement Calculator

The federal laws that protect against being fired

Family and medical leave. “It shall be unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this subchapter.” (29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1)) And “It shall be unlawful for any employer to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any individual for opposing any practice made unlawful by this subchapter.” (29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(2))

A complaint about pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act makes it unlawful for any person “(3) to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this chapter, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or has served or is about to serve on an industry committee;” (29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3))

A safety complaint. “(1) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this chapter or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of the exercise by such employee on behalf of himself or others of any right afforded by this chapter.” (29 U.S.C. § 660(c)(1))

Union activity. Among the unfair labor practices the National Labor Relations Act lists for an employer: “(3) by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization” (29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(3)) and “(4) to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he has filed charges or given testimony under this subchapter;” (29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(4))

Military service. “(a) A person who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service shall not be denied initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of that membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation.” (38 U.S.C. § 4311(a)) “(b) An employer may not discriminate in employment against or take any adverse employment action or other retaliatory action against any person because such person (1) has taken an action to enforce a protection afforded any person under this chapter, (2) has testified or otherwise made a statement in or in connection with any proceeding under this chapter,” (38 U.S.C. § 4311(b)) and the subsection goes on.

Reporting fraud at a public company. “No company with a class of securities registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l)” (18 U.S.C. § 1514A(a)), among the others the subsection names, “may discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment because of any lawful act done by the employee” (18 U.S.C. § 1514A(a)), including “(1) to provide information, cause information to be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation regarding any conduct which the employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation of section 1341, 1343, 1344, or 1348, any rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders, when the information or assistance is provided to or the investigation is conducted by” (18 U.S.C. § 1514A(a)(1)) the agencies, members of Congress or supervisors the subsection lists.

Discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids it, and the EEOC settlement calculator on this site quotes its damages cap and covered employers. Age discrimination runs under its own statute, on the age discrimination lawsuit page.

Wrongful termination deadlines under federal law

Title VII: “A charge under this section shall be filed within one hundred and eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred” (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1)), or, where proceedings were first started with a state or local agency, “such charge shall be filed by or on behalf of the person aggrieved within three hundred days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred, or within thirty days after receiving notice that the State or local agency has terminated the proceedings under the State or local law, whichever is earlier,” (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1)) the subsection goes on.

The FMLA: “an action may be brought under this section not later than 2 years after the date of the last event constituting the alleged violation for which the action is brought.” (29 U.S.C. § 2617(c)(1)) “In the case of such action brought for a willful violation of section 2615 of this title, such action may be brought within 3 years of the date of the last event constituting the alleged violation for which such action is brought.” (29 U.S.C. § 2617(c)(2))

A wage complaint under the FLSA: section 255 sets the period for an action “to enforce any cause of action for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or liquidated damages, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938” (29 U.S.C. § 255): it “may be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, and every such action shall be forever barred unless commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued;” (29 U.S.C. § 255(a))

A safety complaint: “Any employee who believes that he has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of this subsection may, within thirty days after such violation occurs, file a complaint with the Secretary alleging such discrimination.” (29 U.S.C. § 660(c)(2))

Union activity: “no complaint shall issue based upon any unfair labor practice occurring more than six months prior to the filing of the charge with the Board and the service of a copy thereof upon the person against whom such charge is made, unless the person aggrieved thereby was prevented from filing such charge by reason of service in the armed forces, in which event the six-month period shall be computed from the day of his discharge.” (29 U.S.C. § 160(b))

Military service: “If any person seeks to file a complaint or claim with the Secretary, the Merit Systems Protection Board, or a Federal or State court under this chapter alleging a violation of this chapter, there shall be no limit on the period for filing the complaint or claim.” (38 U.S.C. § 4327(b))

Reporting fraud: “An action under paragraph (1) shall be commenced not later than 180 days after the date on which the violation occurs, or after the date on which the employee became aware of the violation.” (18 U.S.C. § 1514A(b)(2)(D))

How back pay is figured in a wrongful termination settlement

Back pay is the pay the firing cost. Under Title VII, the court may “order such affirmative action as may be appropriate, which may include, but is not limited to, reinstatement or hiring of employees, with or without back pay (payable by the employer, employment agency, or labor organization, as the case may be, responsible for the unlawful employment practice), or any other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate.” (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g)(1))

Two limits come with it. “Back pay liability shall not accrue from a date more than two years prior to the filing of a charge with the Commission.” (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g)(1)) And “Interim earnings or amounts earnable with reasonable diligence by the person or persons discriminated against shall operate to reduce the back pay otherwise allowable.” (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g)(1)) So what you earn in a new job counts against the back pay, and so can what you could have earned with reasonable diligence.

The other statutes name back pay too. The OSH Act's court may “order all appropriate relief including rehiring or reinstatement of the employee to his former position with back pay.” (29 U.S.C. § 660(c)(2)) The Labor Board may order a person “to take such affirmative action including reinstatement of employees with or without back pay, as will effectuate the policies of this subchapter” (29 U.S.C. § 160(c)). Under Sarbanes-Oxley, “An employee prevailing in any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee whole.” (18 U.S.C. § 1514A(c)(1)) Relief includes “(A) reinstatement with the same seniority status that the employee would have had, but for the discrimination; (B) the amount of back pay, with interest; and (C) compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees.” (18 U.S.C. § 1514A(c)(2))

The sections quoted for those other laws do not say how earnings from a new job count, and the calculator does not subtract them under those laws. A court decides that.

When the statute adds an equal amount

Three of these laws add liquidated damages to lost pay. The FMLA makes the employer liable for “(I) any wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to such employee by reason of the violation;” (29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(1)(A)(i)(I)) and “(ii) the interest on the amount described in clause (i) calculated at the prevailing rate; and (iii) an additional amount as liquidated damages equal to the sum of the amount described in clause (i) and the interest described in clause (ii), except that if an employer who has violated section 2615 of this title proves to the satisfaction of the court that the act or omission which violated section 2615 of this title was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation of section 2615 of this title, such court may, in the discretion of the court, reduce the amount of the liability to the amount and interest determined under clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;” (29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(1)(A)(ii), (iii))

For a firing over a wage complaint: “Any employer who violates the provisions of section 215(a)(3) or 218d of this title shall be liable for such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of section 215(a)(3) or 218d of this title, including without limitation employment, reinstatement, promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.” (29 U.S.C. § 216(b))

For military service, the court may award “(B) The court may require the employer to compensate the person for any loss of wages or benefits suffered by reason of such employer's failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter.” (38 U.S.C. § 4323(d)(1)(B)) “(C) The court may require the employer to pay the person the amount referred to in subparagraph (B) and interest on such amount, calculated at a rate of 3 percent per year.” (38 U.S.C. § 4323(d)(1)(C)) “(D) The court may require the employer to pay the person the greater of $50,000 or the amount equal to the amounts referred to in subparagraphs (B) and (C) as liquidated damages, if the court determines that the employer knowingly failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter.” (38 U.S.C. § 4323(d)(1)(D))

A wrongful termination settlement calculator example

Say you earned $1,200 a week and were fired for taking FMLA leave, and 20 weeks have passed. Pay lost is $24,000. The FMLA adds an equal amount, $24,000, for $48,000 before interest. That is what the statute allows a court to award on those figures, not a prediction of a settlement.

Under Title VII instead, with $6,000 earned in a new job over the same weeks, the back pay is $24,000 less $6,000: $18,000. Compensatory and punitive damages, capped by the employer's size, would come on top; the EEOC settlement calculator applies that cap.

State law, and what this calculator does not do

A firing that people call wrongful can be a claim under a state's law instead of a federal one: a state can forbid reasons no federal statute names, cover employers too small for the federal laws, or allow other damages. This page reads no state law. If your reason is not one of the federal laws above, a state law may still apply, and an employment attorney in your state can say whether it does.

The calculator does not decide whether the firing was unlawful or which law applies. It does not compute interest, front pay, compensatory or punitive damages, attorney's fees or costs, and it does not count a deadline from a date.

It applies the statutes as the 2024 edition of the United States Code prints them, read on October 16, 2026. A later amendment would not show here.