Employee Survival Guide® - Fired For Cause, Not The End

Episode Date: February 16, 2026

Comment on the Show by Sending Mark a Text Message.“Terminated for cause” sounds like a career-ending verdict, but we pull back the curtain on what the label really means, why companies use it, and how you can fight back without burning bridges. Mark Caring walks through the legal standard for cause—willful misconduct, not mere underperformance—and shows how employers often stretch minor missteps into moral failures to dodge severance and unemployment costs. By separating performance from misconduct, you’ll see where your leverage starts.We break down real-world examples that distinguish a missed quota from embezzlement, then map the tactics organizations use to turn small policy slips into big accusations. From rushed investigations to uneven rule enforcement, the cracks usually appear when you ask for your personnel file, compare treatment across colleagues, and line up the policy text with what actually happened. The burden of proof sits with the employer, and when they can’t meet it, their case—and their confidence—fades.From there, we get practical. You’ll hear a clear survival checklist: don’t sign admissions on the spot, demand your records where state law allows, document inconsistencies, and get an employment lawyer to test the company’s “cause” narrative. We outline how to negotiate from strength by challenging the validity of the determination, quantifying the cost of a fight, and proposing a clean resolution: severance, benefits continuation, mutual non-disparagement, and neutral or positive verification language. Often, that “for cause” label can be traded for cash and a resignation or reduction-in-force entry in your file—protecting your reputation while bridging to your next role.If you’re staring at a cold conference room or a tense Zoom, take a breath. The label is a starting position, not a final judgment. Press play to learn how to turn panic into process, rebuild leverage with facts, and secure the outcome you deserve. If this helped you or someone you know, subscribe, share the show, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway—we read every one. If you enjoyed this episode of the Employee Survival Guide please like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We would really appreciate if you could leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Leaving a review will inform other listeners you found the content on this podcast is important in the area of employment law in the United States. For more information, please contact our employment attorneys at Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com.Disclaimer: For educational use only, not intended to be legal advice.

Hey, it's Mark here and welcome to the next edition of the Employee Survival Guide, where I tell you, as always, what your employer does definitely not want you to know about. And a lot more. Welcome back to the Employee Survival Guide. I'm Mark Kerring. Today, we are dismantling one of the scariest terms in corporate dictionary. Termination for cause. It sounds final, doesn't it?

It sounds like you did something terrible. You stole money. You punched a coworker or you burned the building down. When an employer uses those words, they want, you to feel shame. They want you to feel lucky that you aren't suing, that they aren't suing you, and most importantly, they want you to walk quietly away without asking for a goddamn dime. But here's the reality check. In my practice, I see employers use the for-cause label as a weapon, not a description. It's often a financial strategy designed to block you from getting

unemployment benefits and deny you severance package that you deserve. If you've been fired for cause, or if you're being treated or threatened with it, do not panic. The game isn't over. It's, in fact, just beginning. First, we need to clear up what the term cause means legally. Most employees are at will, meaning you can be fired for any reason.

But for cause is a specific legal standard. It usually requires willful misconduct. This is a distinction employers try to blurb. Here's scenario number one. You missed your sales quota for two quarters in a row. That is a performance issue. That's not a cause basis. Situation number two, you embezzle client funds or sexually harassed a subordinate.

That's for cause basis. Here's a trap. Employers love to stress or dress up the scenario number one to look like scenario number two. They will claim that your failure to follow a specific protocol was insubordination or a violation of company policy. Why do they do this? Money. It's always about money. If they fire you for performance, they have to pay out,

accrued benefits or stick to the severance policy in your contract. If they fire you for cause, they don't owe you shit. So you're sitting in that cold conference room or looking on a Zoom screen and HR tells you you're being terminated for cause, you feel like you have zero leverage. But here's a secret. A burden of proof for cause is on your employer. If they want to deny your benefits based on misconduct, they have to prove that misconduct happen. And surprisingly often, they can't.

Believe me, they can't. Did they follow their own investigation procedures? Did they apply the rules equally? For example, if they fired you, your female, for being late, but Dave, in accounting, is late every day and still has a job. That's not cause. That's discrimination or pretext. Is the policy violation actually just a minor error that they are blowing out of proportion?

I recently had a client fired for cause for sending a personal email from a work account. Technically, a policy violation, maybe, but grounds to deny a 10-year employee. There's severance? Absolutely not. We fought for it, and we won. Now, let's answer the basic. question. Can you still get a severance package? The answer is yes. We get severance in four cause cases all the time. How? By attacking the validity of the cause termination. We go to the employer

and say, this wasn't willful misconduct. This was a performance issue or a misunderstanding or a lack of training. We show them that their definition of cause won't hold up in court or before the Department of Labor. Suddenly, the employer has a choice. They can spend $50,000 to $100,000 fighting my office to prove they were that you were bad, or they can pay you a severance package to go away quietly and sign a release. Nine times out of ten, they choose option two. They don't want the headache of dealing with my office. I'm not joking.

They don't want to risk a wrongful termination suit, and there's public notoriety of that, bad PR. They just want the problem solved. We essentially trade the cause label for cash. We can often get them to change the termination status to resignation or job elimination in your file, which protects your reputation and secures the payout, you need to bridge the gap on your next job. So if you're facing a trap right now, and here's your survival checklist.

Number one, don't sign anything immediately. If they slide a separation agreement across the table that says you admit to wrongdoing, don't sign it. Take it home, give it to me, an employment attorney. Number two, demand the file. Ask for your personnel files. You have a right to see the evidence they have against you. In most states, you can get the file in some states you can. In Connecticut, you can.

or you can't. That's called a personnel file. Number three, document the inconsistencies. Write down every instance where an employee, other employees did the same thing and weren't fired. Usually that sort of demonstrate a pretext for some basis of discrimination that you can bring against the employer. Number four, call an employment lawyer, me. We can look at the facts and tell you very quickly if there is a, if their cause, the company's, you know, rationale for cause is legit or it's a bluff. Bottom line is this. The forecause label is a label. It's not a verdict. It's often just an opening negotiation tactic by a company trying to save a buck. Remember, employers are cheap. Don't let them bully you out of a compensation you're earned. And as always, have a great week. And thank you for allowing me to be a service. Hey, it's Mark, and thank you for listening to this episode of The Employees FI Guide. If you'd like to be interviewed for our podcast and share your story about what you're going through at work and do so anonymously, please send me an email at M-C-R-E-Y at C-A-P-C-Law.com. And also, if you like this podcast episode and others like it, please leave us a review.

It really does help others find this podcast. So leave a review on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to this podcast. Thank you very much. and glad to be a service to you.