Wrongful Termination
Whether you have been classified as an “at-will” employee or you may only be lawfully discharged from your position in the event that your employer can show “just cause” for your termination, you may not be lawfully terminated on unlawful grounds. Too often, workers are given the impression that they may be laid off or fired at any time, for any reason. It is true that per Cal. Labor Code § 2922, an employee is presumed to be classified as “at-will” in the event that the length of their employment or other terms does not contractually classify them otherwise. It is also true that at-will employees may be terminated at any time and for any reason (or no reason) as permitted by law. However, no California employee, at-will or just cause, documented or undocumented, full-time or part-time, may be laid off or involuntarily terminated for unlawful reasons.
You may suspect, but not know for sure, that you have recently been terminated as a result of discriminatory or retaliatory reasons. If so, it’s important that you schedule a confidential, no-cost, risk-free consultation with our firm as soon as you possibly can. Wrongful termination cases are often complex and time-sensitive, regardless of whether or not an affected worker has been offered a severance package in exchange for their right to sue their employer for termination-related mistreatment. Exploring your rights now will help to ensure that those rights remain protected and that you are empowered to make informed decisions on your behalf moving forward.
Note that if you have recently quit your job or resigned from your position as a result of a hostile work environment, you may have legal options available to you as well. Your case will be referred to as a “constructive discharge” case, as opposed to a wrongful termination case. However, the legal foundations that protect your rights as a worker function in much the same way as the rights of workers who have been laid off or fired do.
Passionate Representation on Behalf of Terminated Workers
Losing a job can mean losing one’s financial stability and ability to provide for loved ones. As a result, a sudden job loss can be a uniquely distressing turn of events. Our firm employs a focused, dedicated, compassionate approach to representation of terminated workers because we understand just how much is at stake when a client has lost their job. Trust that when you arrive for a consultation and if/when you choose to work with our firm, you will be treated with respect and your case will be treated with the attention and focus that your circumstances demand. If your employer has unlawfully trampled upon your rights as a worker, we will – with your permission – build the strongest case possible in an effort to secure justice and compensation on your behalf.
Unlawful Reasons that Employees Are Terminated
The law safeguards against the termination of employees for reasons related to unlawful discrimination and/or retaliation for engaging in legally-protected activities. Employers often try to hide the reasons that they are terminating an employee in an effort to avoid litigation. Therefore, it’s important to explore your legal options in the wake of a termination if any of these scenarios “rings true” even if your employer insists that they let you do for an alternative reason or set of reasons:
- Age discrimination
- Filing a workers’ compensation claim
- Filing a discrimination claim with a human resources department and/or governmental authorities
- Notifying governmental authorities about unsafe working conditions
- Participating in legally-protected family or medical leave
- Pregnancy discrimination
- Racial discrimination
- Refusal to participate in illegal conduct
- Refusing demands or requests for personal, financial, or sexual favors
- Religious discrimination
- Reporting a work injury or symptoms of an occupational illness
- Reporting for military service duty
- Requesting reasonable accommodations for a disability
- Retaliation for engaging in legally-protected activities
- Sex discrimination
- Sexual orientation discrimination
- Taking time off to vote or to serve on a jury
- Union activity participation
- Whistleblowing in re: illegal activities and/or business practices
Severance Agreements
If you have been offered a severance agreement (which your employer may refer to as a separation agreement) after being notified that you are being laid off or discharged from your position, do not sign that agreement until our legal team has been given the opportunity to review its terms. Most of the time, severance packages consisting of compensation and an extension of certain benefits are offered in exchange for a waiver of an employee’s right to sue their employer for wrongful termination. If the terms of the severance agreement are fair and you don’t currently have strong grounds to file a wrongful termination action, it may make sense for you to accept the terms of this contract. However, you shouldn’t make any assumptions about the fairness or unfairness of the agreement until we’ve evaluated both the contract and the relative strength of any potential wrongful termination claims that could be filed on your behalf. Depending on your circumstances, you could be entitled to much more compensation via the wrongful termination claims process than your employer is offering now via a severance agreement.
Chances are significant that you have only been given a few days to accept or reject this agreement, so don’t wait to schedule a free consultation with our team. With that said, if you are aged 40 or older, know that you have a right to consider this agreement for 21 days, as provided by the
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA). Even if you have already signed the agreement, contact our firm, as the OWBPA allows you seven days to revoke your consent.
Potential Damages for Wrongful Termination
California law entitles workers to full payment of three primary different kinds of compensation upon termination:
- Cal. Labor Code § 201 – Workers are entitled to any wages owed by their employers upon termination
- Cal. Labor Code § 201 – Workers are entitled to payment for any paid time off and/or vacation that has been accrued and unused at the time of termination
- Cal. Labor Code § 227.3 – Workers are entitled to earned commissions at the time of termination
In the event that your employer has withheld any of these kinds of compensation to which you may be entitled, our firm can help to ensure that you’re paid the amounts you’re owed promptly and completely. In addition, per Cal. Labor Code § 203, our team can help you to collect any “waiting time penalties” that you may be owed as well. This provision of state law allows workers to collect a rate of compensation equal to their ordinary pay rate multiplied by the number of days a worker is denied rightful pay, up to a maximum of 30 days.
In the event that you choose to file legal action against your employer on the grounds of wrongful termination, you may be additionally entitled to compensation related to the following consequences of your unlawful job loss:
- Emotional trauma, depression, and/or anxiety resulting from the termination
- Legal fees and costs
- Loss of benefits
- Lost wages – both wages you have already lost and wages you could have potentially earned in the future
- Punitive damages – this form of compensation is only made available if an employer has engaged in fraud or is found guilty of malice
Preparing for Your Consultation
It isn’t easy to hold an employer accountable for engaging in discriminatory or retaliatory wrongful termination without first obtaining a significant amount of evidence to present in support of an affected worker’s case. As a result, as you’re preparing for your free, confidential, no-obligation case evaluation, take time to gather all of the documentation and other forms of evidence that you may have access to. Bringing this evidence along to your consultation will allow our team the chance to evaluate it and to objectively assess your legal situation accordingly. Examples of documentation that can be helpful to our evaluation process include:
- A copy of any severance agreement that your employer has presented to you
- A copy of your original employment agreement
- Emails, texts, and/or other communications that speak to the circumstances and/or motivations of your termination
- The names and contact information of any witnesses that could further illuminate your work situation and/or explain how the treatment you received was different than the treatment that others received under similar circumstances
- A copy of any accident reports, workers’ compensation claims, performance reviews, notifications to authorities, jury duty orders, or any other documents related directly to your situation
These documents and supporting information may ultimately help our firm prove that an unlawful motivation served as a “substantial motivating factor” in your layoff or employment discharge. With that said, the consultation process does not simply serve as an opportunity for our team to familiarize ourselves with your case. This confidential setting also allows you to ask any questions and voice any concerns that may be contributing to your stress at the moment. Take a few minutes with your trusted loved ones and write down your questions and concerns so that they can be easily referenced during our initial meeting. Consultations are generally only an hour or two long. You won’t want to spend any of that time wondering which issues you were hoping to have our team clarify.
If you have recently been compelled to quit your job due to a hostile work environment or you were either laid off or involuntarily discharged for suspect reasons, please don’t wait to call our firm directly or to submit an online request form for a confidential, “no strings attached” case evaluation available at absolutely no cost to you. Depending on the unique circumstances that you’re navigating, you may be entitled to significant compensation as a result of a wrongful termination claim.
Because it isn’t always easy to determine when an employer is being upfront and honest about their reasons for letting you go, it’s important to avoid making assumptions about your legal situation until after you’ve spoken with our experienced legal team. If you’ve been mistreated by your employer in the past, if you’re treated differently than your coworkers are, or you’ve engaged in legally protected activities and are now likely being retaliated against as a result, you deserve to explore your legal options with the assistance of an attorney you can trust. Our firm has developed a reputation for excellence, in part because we strive to treat everyone who walks through our office doors with the same respect, compassion, and quality of representation that we would want extended to our loved ones if they were facing similar circumstances. Don’t wait to explore whether you may have the right to hold your employer accountable for mistreating you unlawfully. Our firm is here to help. We look forward to speaking with you.