California's Best Wrongful Termination Lawyer
Wrongful Termination Lawyer in Los Angeles, San Diego, Ontario & San Jose
Wrongful Termination
Under California law, employees may not be terminated for discriminatory reasons or in retaliation for exercising their legal rights. A related concept is constructive discharge in which an employee feels no choice but to resign from employment for reasons that result from the employer’s violation of the employee’s legal rights.
Examples of Wrongful Termination:
- Discrimination: Employees cannot be terminated from their position based upon membership in a protected class such as: race, ethnic origin, ancestry, nationality, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, military/veteran status, medical condition, genetic information, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, reporting wage issues, reporting harassment or reporting any safety violations.
- Retaliation: An employer cannot fire an employee because the employee filed a claim of discrimination or is participating in an investigation for discrimination. Additionally, an employer cannot terminate an employee for reporting wage violations, safety violations and any other violations within the workplace.
- An employer is not permitted to fire an employee because the employee refuses to commit an act that is illegal.Reporting a Violation of Law to Government Authorities: also known as a whistleblower law, an employee who falls under whistleblower protections may not lawfully be fired for reporting an employer's legal violation or for similar activity that is protected by the law.
- In some cases, an employee handbook or company policy outlines a procedure that must be followed before an employee is terminated. If the employer fires an employee without following this procedure, depending upon the laws of the jurisdiction in which the termination occurs, the employee may have a claim for wrongful termination.
