Minneapolis, MN employment law attorney Ashwin Madia talks about what must be proven to win a wrongful termination case in Minnesota. He explains that in Minnesota, an at-will employment state, employees can generally be hired or terminated for any reason—or no reason at all. The law permits this as long as the termination is not motivated by an illegal reason. An unlawful reason includes discrimination based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or other immutable characteristics, as well as retaliation for whistleblowing or filing a complaint of discrimination.

He notes that in employment cases, employers often claim that a termination was due to poor performance, tardiness, or other non-discriminatory reasons. To challenge this, he and his team focus on proving that the employer’s stated reason is a pretext—a false explanation meant to conceal the unlawful motive. This can involve demonstrating that the employee received positive performance reviews, performed as well or better than peers who were not terminated, or that the adverse action occurred shortly after a protected activity, such as filing a complaint. Past patterns of retaliation by the employer can also support the claim.

He emphasizes that proving pretext is central to these cases. While employers rarely admit to illegal motives, careful investigation and creative legal strategies allow his team to show that the stated reasons for termination are not credible, thereby supporting the employee’s claim of unlawful treatment.