You’re an excellent employee with great performance reviews and always on time. The new boss calls you in to his office with a supervisor sitting in a chair next to the one reserved for you. You sit down.

“We are going to have to let you go,” the new boss says.

No real reason is given.

You’re told they will send your things later or you can come back and pick them up after-hours. You’re then escorted out of the office.

You’re in shock! What can you do?

In Tennessee, a “right-to-work” state, no reason is required for firing someone. There is usually not much you can do unless discrimination is involved. A lawsuit is possible if your rights were violated.

There are steps you can take to prepare yourself for such a situation.

First, always read the employee handbook. Make sure you understand what it says. If it’s on the computer network, print it. Keep a copy at home. Refer to it if you are involved in any personnel issue.

Keep all records, comments, letters and emails that have discussed your work performance. Organizations have a responsibility to keep personnel informed about job expectations, performance and what is permitted at the work place.

After meetings dealing with personnel matters, discussions about work expectations or discriminatory comments made by supervisors or coworkers, make notes about what was said, who said it and the date it occurred. Also, include who was present.

If you have concerns or questions after any such meetings, don’t wait to discuss them with your supervisor. Ask for clarification immediately. Take notes, including the date, and keep them in your file.

Keeping the information on your work computer is a mistake. The first thing most employers will do after a firing is deny you access to their database and computer information. Files might not be given to you.

Always keep all personnel information and files at home.

After giving yourself some time to think about what to do next, you can decide if formal action is best.

However, don’t become bitter and focus entirely on revenge. Chances of winning a formal action are low. Spend most of your time looking for a new position.

Can it be proven you were fired because of gender, race, age (if over 40), disability or religion? You will have to explain and provide documentation of instances in which you experienced different treatment and how discrimination was a factor in your termination.

Unless one of these reasons can be proven, you will not have “cause.”

If there is “cause,” there are two main actions to take.

File a complaint with the EEOC or Tennessee Human Rights Commission. This is why you kept records.

This action costs nothing, unless you have an attorney do it for you. The agencies will conduct an investigation and require the employer to explain why you were fired.

You will receive a copy of the agencies’ findings. If the EEOC or state doesn’t resolve the matter in a year, you probably will receive a right-to-sue letter from them. Then you can proceed to the next step.

Get an employment attorney to file a lawsuit. This can be expensive, and in most instances will take at least two years. The outcome will be in question until either the parties settle out-of-court or the case goes to trial.

The most important thing to remember is to spend most of your time looking for another job and doing a good job once you are hired.

M.B. Owens is a Nashville-based columnist and journalist with a decade of experience writing on employment topics and business. He can be reached at [email protected].