Understanding a Constructive Discharge Claim

An employee who resigns can bring a claim for wrongful termination known as “constructive discharge.” Constructive discharge covers situations where, rather than terminating the employee, the employer makes working conditions so intolerable that the employee will resign. An employee can also bring a constructive discharge lawsuit against an employer that offers an employee the supposed choice of quitting or being fired.

To sustain a constructive discharge claim, an employee must show that the working conditions that caused them to resign were sufficiently extraordinary and egregious so that a reasonable person would be compelled to resign. In addition, the employee must notify the¹