Firings that cross the line under Ohio and federal law.
Ohio is at-will, but at-will is not a free pass. A Columbus employer cannot fire you because of your race, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy, or for taking FMLA leave, reporting illegal conduct, filing a workers’ comp claim, or refusing to commit a crime. The 10 Columbus firms below pursue those firings against private and public employers across Ohio.
Most fired Columbus employees do not have a wrongful termination case. At-will means an Ohio employer can let you go for a bad reason, a stupid reason, or no reason at all. The exceptions are the categories carved out by federal law (Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, USERRA), Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4112, and Ohio common-law public policy. The firms on this list spend their week sorting which firings fit one of those exceptions and which do not.
Every firm below represents employees, not employers, in these matters. We weighted Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers selections, Avvo and Justia ratings, NELA membership, peer recognition through the Ohio Employment Lawyers Association, and verified Franklin County and Southern District of Ohio appearance history. Fees in this market are mostly hybrid (a modest hourly retainer for the OCRC or EEOC charge phase, then contingency on any recovery), with several firms working pure contingency on strong cases. Consultations are free and confidential.
How we picked these 10: We cross-checked published verdicts, Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers selections, Avvo and Justia ratings, peer reviews, and bar association recognition. Firms that appeared consistently across at least two independent sources made the list. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, discrimination, civil rights, retaliation
Columbus firm focused exclusively on employment and civil rights work for employees. Attorneys include John S. Marshall, Edward R. Forman, Samuel M. Schlein, Helen M. Robinson, Madeline J. Rettig, and Louis A. Jacobs. 100+ years of combined experience. Phone: 614-762-9727.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, FMLA, discrimination, whistleblower
Multi-city Ohio employee-side firm founded by Peter Friedmann. Handles wrongful termination, FMLA interference and retaliation, unpaid wages, and whistleblower claims throughout Ohio.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, discrimination, FMLA, hostile environment
Multi-state employee-rights firm with a long-running Columbus office in the Busch Corporate Center. High-volume employee-side practice with deep FMLA and discrimination benches. Phone: 614-683-7331.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, overtime
Columbus employee-rights boutique. Greg Mansell and Carrie Dyer named to the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law. Strong fit for direct attorney-client contact.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, wage and hour, FLSA collective actions, FMLA
Long-established Columbus plaintiff firm. 60+ years of employee-side work, with a particular focus on wage-and-hour terminations and FLSA collective actions across Ohio.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, discrimination, FMLA, retaliation
Columbus employee-rights boutique focused on wrongful termination and discrimination. Heavy intake volume and a no-fee-unless-you-win posture on most cases.
Practice focus: Wage and hour, wrongful termination, FLSA collective actions
Columbus-based Ohio employment firm with 25+ million in recoveries for workers. Heavy on collective actions and wage-related terminations, but takes single-plaintiff wrongful termination as well.
Practice focus: Employment class actions, wrongful termination, whistleblower, qui tam
Multi-office Ohio plaintiff firm with a strong employment and class action practice. Particularly strong on whistleblower retaliation and qui tam matters that overlap with termination.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, discrimination, public-sector employment
Columbus solo with a long-running employment practice. Strong fit for clients who want a single experienced attorney handling everything from intake through trial, especially in public-sector and civil-service matters.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, discrimination, whistleblower, FMLA
Columbus employee-rights boutique. Adam Soroka has handled wrongful termination cases against large Ohio employers and public agencies. Approachable for first-time complainants who want a personal handoff.
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Request Free Consultation →Columbus wrongful termination firms structure fees one of three ways. Pure contingency: 33 to 40 percent of the recovery if the case settles before suit, 40 percent if a state or federal lawsuit is filed, nothing if you lose. Hybrid: $250 to $400 per hour during the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and EEOC charge phase, then contingency. Pure hourly: $300 to $500 per hour billed against a $5,000 to $15,000 retainer.
Federal civil rights statutes and Ohio Chapter 4112 both allow fee-shifting — a prevailing employee can recover attorney’s fees from the employer in addition to damages. In smaller-damages cases the fee award is often the bulk of the recovery, and the firms below structure engagement letters around that. Costs (depositions, mediators, expert witnesses) run $3,000 to $25,000 depending on how far the case travels.
Pre-charge consultation: 60 to 90 minutes. Bring your termination letter, performance reviews, handbook, anything in writing from the employer, dates, witness names, and your version of the timeline. The lawyer triages it against the statutory exceptions.
OCRC and EEOC charge: File within 300 days of the termination for federal claims. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission charge in Columbus can be filed within 6 months under state law. Most firms dual-file.
Investigation or mediation: 6 to 18 months at the agency. Many cases resolve here through OCRC or EEOC mediation, which is free and confidential.
Lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas or S.D. Ohio: 12 to 30 months to summary judgment or trial. Most cases settle at or before the dispositive-motion stage.
Match the firm to the legal theory. A pure-discrimination firing (race, sex, age, disability) is well-handled by any firm on this list. An FMLA-interference termination after medical leave is a niche that Spitz and The Friedmann Firm handle in volume. A whistleblower or public-policy tort claim under Ohio common law belongs at Marshall Forman & Schlein, where the bench has been litigating these for decades. A class or collective wage-related termination fits Nilges Legal Group or Barkan Meizlish DeRose, both with deep collective-action experience.
Ask two questions before signing. First, has the firm taken a Columbus wrongful termination case to verdict in the last three years? You want a yes with the case name. Second, who at the firm will personally handle your file from intake through trial? In employee-side work the named partner often does the intake and then a junior associate handles the case. Know who you are getting.
Promises a six-figure settlement at intake. Wrongful termination cases vary enormously by employer size, evidence quality, and provable damages. Columbus settlements run from nothing on a weak case to several hundred thousand on a strong one with documented harm. A firm that quotes a number at intake is selling.
Firms that also do employer-side work. Several large Columbus firms maintain ethical walls between employer-defense and employee-plaintiff practices. Most do not. Ask directly: do you ever represent employers in cases like this? Have you ever represented my employer? Listen for clarity.
No conversation about retaliation. If you complained about discrimination, harassment, or unsafe work before being fired, retaliation is often a stronger case than the underlying complaint. A competent Columbus lawyer raises this in the first call.
Vague fee terms. The engagement letter should specify hourly rate vs. contingency, what costs are advanced vs. billed, fee-shifting handling, and what happens to costs if you lose. “We’ll figure it out” is not an answer.
Pressure to sign a release with the employer first. If your former employer is offering severance with a release, read it with a lawyer before you sign. Once signed, most claims are extinguished. The release-review fee is small relative to the value of the claims you might give away.
Most firms on this list offer a free initial call. Use it. Bring this list and write down the answers. Compare across at least two firms before you sign anything.
Franklin County Common Pleas and S.D. Ohio. Columbus wrongful termination cases generally land in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas (state law claims) or the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (federal claims). The judges, motion practice, and summary judgment patterns differ; experienced Columbus employee-side firms know both forums.
Ohio Civil Rights Commission. OCRC has a Columbus regional office and runs a parallel charge process to the EEOC. Filing periods are different (6 months vs. 300 days), as are remedies. A good Columbus lawyer will pick the forum strategically and often dual-file.
Ohio public policy tort. Ohio recognizes a common-law cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy — the Greeley tort. It covers firings for refusing to commit a crime, exercising a statutory right, or reporting illegal conduct. Several firms on this list specialize in pleading and proving Greeley claims.
Public employees. If you were fired by the State of Ohio, the City of Columbus, Franklin County, Columbus City Schools, or another public employer, additional procedural rules apply (Loudermill hearings, civil service protections, sovereign immunity). Look for firms with a public-sector employment lane.
Ohio is at-will, so most firings are legal even if unfair. A termination crosses into wrongful territory if it was because of a protected characteristic (race, sex, age 40+, religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy, military status), in retaliation for protected activity (FMLA, workers’ comp, EEOC charge, whistleblowing), or in violation of Ohio public policy (firing for refusing to commit a crime, reporting illegal conduct, exercising a statutory right).
Federal Title VII, ADEA, and ADA claims: 300 days from the termination to file an EEOC charge. Ohio Civil Rights Commission charges: 6 months. FMLA: 2 years (3 if willful). Ohio public-policy tort: 4 years. Some claims have shorter contractual or administrative deadlines. Call a lawyer early.
Yes. At-will means the employer does not need a good reason to fire you. It does not mean the employer can fire you for an illegal reason. The exceptions above all apply to at-will employees in Columbus.
Wide range. Weak cases settle for the cost of defense, often $5,000 to $25,000. Mid-tier cases with documented damages settle in the $40,000 to $150,000 range. Strong cases with clean evidence and high lost-wages exposure can resolve at $200,000 to $750,000 or more. Federal and Ohio statutes also allow fee-shifting, so the attorney’s fee component is separate from your damages.
A signed severance release usually waives most wrongful-termination claims. ADEA claims (age) have a 7-day revocation window after signing. Other claims typically do not. If you have not signed yet, get the release reviewed before you do — almost every firm on this list will read it for free.
For discrimination claims under federal law, yes — you must exhaust administrative remedies before suing. Most Columbus firms dual-file with both agencies as a matter of course because Ohio is a deferral state. For non-discrimination claims (FMLA, public-policy tort), you can usually file directly in court.
No. Retaliation for filing a charge or for opposing discrimination is independently illegal under both Ohio Chapter 4112 and federal law. Many cases end with two claims: the original discrimination claim and a retaliation claim for the post-complaint firing. Retaliation claims are often easier to win.
Yes. State of Ohio, City of Columbus, Franklin County, and Columbus City Schools employees have civil service protections, Loudermill hearing rights, and procedural due process protections that private-sector employees do not. Several firms on this list have a public-sector lane.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one the same question: How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and what is the realistic range of outcomes? The answer tells you most of what you need to know. — The LawFirmSquare team