Fight Back If Your Employer Acted Illegally
As an employee in California, you are entitled to certain legal protections against being terminated by your employer. Even when an employee does not have an employment contract, and/or is considered an “at‐will” employee, the employer does not have the right to terminate the employee for without proper reason. California and federal law protects employees from being terminated from their positions if the termination would be in violation of public policy.
Examples of wrongful termination of an employee by an employer in California include:
- Termination of an employee due to a disability (e.g., where an employer terminates an employee with a hearing or vision impairment who can otherwise do the job without undue burden on the employer)
- Termination of an employee based on race or national origin (e.g., where an employer terminates an employee based on the fact that he or she is Asian, African‐American, Hispanic, Caucasian, etc., or was either born in a specific foreign country or has family roots in a specific foreign country
- Termination of an employee based on gender (e.g., where an employer terminates a female employee based on her gender or terminates an employee based on the fact that he or she associates with a different gender identity)
- Termination of an employee for speaking out against unsafe working conditions (e.g., where an employer terminates an employee who makes a communication either inside or outside of the company about the employer's violation of OSHA standards or other topics related to the safety of workers)
- Termination of an employee for speaking out against wage and hour violations (e.g., where an employer terminates an employee for requesting overtime payment for hours worked)
- Termination of an employee for exercising family and medical leave rights (e.g., where an employer terminates a father for taking a leave to help take care of a newborn baby, or where a mother takes a pregnancy leave)
- Termination of an employee for reporting fellow employee misconduct (e.g., where an employer terminates an employee who reports sexual harassment committed by another employee)
An employee who has been wrongfully terminated can successfully sue the employer and other responsible parties for damages, including lost earnings, lost benefits, emotional distress caused by the loss of the job, and more. At Vogel Law, APC, we take wrongful termination cases on a contingency basis, but you still may be able to recover the cost of attorney fees in some cases. Bringing a successful wrongful termination action against an employer will also send a message to that employer that it cannot violate an employee's rights and get away with it, and can protect other employees from enduring the same unlawful treatment in the future.
At Vogel Law, APC, we work with employees who are simply trying to do the right thing, but have unfortunately become the victim of a wrongful termination. It is unlawful for employers to wrongfully terminate an employee, and, when they do, we will work to hold those employers accountable for their illegal acts and obtain the compensation that wrongfully terminated employees deserve under the law. If you or someone you love has been wrongfully terminated by an employer in California, contact Pasadena wrongful termination attorney Brian Vogel. He will fight to protect your rights under state and federal employment law and get the compensation you are rightly owed. For a free consultation, call (626) 796‐7470.