Do I have a case for wrongful termination in Oregon?

I recently moved here from California about a year ago, I live with my Wife and Son We rent an apartment in Springfield.


I'm a commercial truck driver for a large Beverage Distribution Company in Eugene. On December 31st 2008 my HR department called me on my route informing me that some of my paperwork wasnt consistent with other paperwork, that basically I listed my children as benificiaries on my 401 K, which i wasnt supposed to do if i was married. Then they looked at my W2 and noticed that i was filing single. The HR dept. asked me if i was married or not I told them I was, they then told me that i needed to go in and see them immediatly after my shift.


Immediatly after getting off the phone with them I called my wife and asked her to get online and make sure that oregon recognizes common law marriage. She told me No. When i got back to work I approached my supervisor and informed him that i think i had just lied to HR because oregon doesnt recognize common law marriage. We then all 3 went into an office where they told me that this is insurance fraud, that I owe them money that was paid covering my wife on the insurance and that I also owe the insuarance company money they paid for her emergency room visit in July 2008. The following day i researched it on the internet myself and came up with some interesting information.


On Friday Jan 2 2009 I gave my supervisor what i had found about oregon and common law marriage. Here is what i gave him ( the link is from the offical colorado state website on common law marriage where i contend she and i lived for a period of time)





Does Oregon have common law marriages?


A common law “marriage” is not valid in Oregon. However, if a couple is from a state that acknowledges common law marriages (currently 15 states do), and the couple meets the requirements of common law marriage of that state, then the state of Oregon will acknowledge the marriage of that state as valid in Oregon.





Legal editor: Melya Stylos, May 2008.





Even if a state no longer permits common law marriages, the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution requires all states to recognize and validate common law marriages created in states that do permit them. This means that you and your partner can create a common law marriage in Montana and still have it recognized in New York.





http://www.ago.state.co.us/FAQ/CLM_FAQ.cfm.html








Later on the morning of January 2 2009 I recieved a phone call from my supervisor telling me "Enough of the ******* Bullshit with this Bullshit ******* Paperwork you gave to me I dont know if i'm going to Fire you or not but i do know you're in a **** load of trouble so just do your ******* job and i'll let you know when i make a decision."


On 1-7-09 I was fired for submiting false information.|||There are a couple of things here:





1. You can list children as beneficiaries if you have consent from your spouse - unless the terms specifically state you may not.





2. How you file on your W-4 is up to you. If you are married and recognized by common law, you should have checked married but filing at a higher single rate.





3. If your supervisor called you and used the language you state in your message, you should look at www.eeoc.gov and read about harassment and see if it fits your situation.





Even if you didn't willfully submit information that was false - they may still have other grounds for their actions. It's difficult to be specific and it would be prudent for you to find an attorney who specializes in employment law in Oregon to advice you.|||well, i hate to say this, but i almost feel like they were looking for a reason to terminate you.





however, with that being said...i would contact a 'employment lawyer' in Oregon...take all of your paperwork, documentation of conversations, etc....only the attorney can tell you for sure what the law is.





and he will probably want to know what you want from a lawsuit---pay, your job back, etc? so think about that before you see the attorney...do u want your job back - or what?





good luck :)