When your boss fires you, do you have any recourse against your former employer? Depending on the reason for your termination, you might. While California is an at-will employment state, an employer cannot fire you for an illegal reason. We briefly review those illegal reasons below and how you can seek protection and relief under the law.
If you believe your employer that has broken the law, our Temecula wrongful termination lawyer at the Law Office of John Dalton can ensure you receive everything you are owed. John Dalton has decades of experience and success, and he is passionate about protecting employees from the wrongful acts of employers.
What Is At-Will Employment?
You are an at-will employee if you don’t have an employment agreement with your employer that states that you can be fired only for certain reasons or only after a specified amount of time. Being an at-will employee means you can quit at any time, and your employer can fire you at any time for no reason. But even if you are an at-will employee, your employer cannot fire you for an illegal reason. Let’s go over some of those illegal reasons.
Illegal Reasons for a Job Termination
An employee in California cannot be fired for discriminatory reasons or as retaliation when they assert their rights or engage in protected activity. An employer is also liable if it violates the terms of an employment contract when firing an employee. If an employer fires an employee for an unlawful reason or illegal way, that employee has the right to sue or file an administrative complaint against the employer.
Discriminatory Firing
You should speak to us immediately about your rights against job discrimination. On the federal and state levels, the laws protect employees from termination, punishment, or unequal treatment based on certain characteristics. If your employer fires you for any of the following reasons, they have broken the law:
- Ancestry,
- Religion,
- Sex,
- Race,
- National origin,
- Color,
- Gender,
- Military status,
- Creed,
- Disability,
- Age (for those 40 or older),
- Veteran status,
- Genetic information,
- Sexual orientation,
- Transgender.
- Marital status, or
- Medical condition.
Your employer can be liable for firing you based on your actual characteristics, your perceived characteristics, or your association with others with these particular characteristics.
Retaliatory Firing
As an employee, you also have the right to engage in protected activities, and speaking to an attorney about these activities can safeguard your professional well-being. If an employer fires you for engaging in a protected activity, that is illegal retaliation, and you can seek relief in a legal claim. Protected activities include:
- Filing a discrimination claim;
- Complaining about illegal conduct;
- Claiming regarding wage and hour violations;
- Taking time off to appear in court when you have been subpoenaed as a crime victim,
- Refusing to engage in illegal activity;
- Making a claim for workers’ compensation;
- Taking time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the California Family Rights Act;
- Complaining about safety violations;
- Seeking reasonable accommodations for a disability or an injury related to sexual assault, being a crime victim, domestic violence, or stalking;
- Properly reporting an employer’s unlawful conduct;
- Appearing at your child’s school when certain requests are made;
- Discussing your wages with others;
- Reporting for jury duty
- Reporting for military duty;
- Using accrued sick leave; or
- Cooperating with a discrimination or labor violation claim.
Sometimes, pinpointing your employer’s motives for a firing is easy, and sometimes, discerning unlawful motives in a job termination takes significant investigation. Our wrongful termination attorney knows all the tricks of the trade and how to uncover and highlight illegal motivations in job terminations.
Breach of Contract
If you have an employment agreement with your employer, you have the protections mentioned above against termination and the protection of your contract. An employment contract can be written, implied, express, or oral, and an employment attorney can help you identify whether you have contract protections. If you have a contract with your employer, and your employer breaches that agreement to fire you, you can sue for damages and other remedies.
Tens of Millions of Dollars Recovered for Our Clients
Seeking Remedies
As soon as you recognize unfair treatment by an employer, speak to us about your concerns because you might have a right to compensation and other relief. This relief can include:
- Job reinstatement,
- Backpay,
- Compensation for emotional distress,
- Payment for any related financial losses,
- Punitive damages, and
- Legal costs.
The Law Office of John Dalton Can Help
John Dalton is your best option when you need a wrongful termination lawyer in Temecula, CA. John has been in practice for over 27 years and has broken multiple records with the relief he has won for clients. John does not tolerate bullies or wrongful actors who mistreat their employees, and he has decades of knowledge and experience that can protect the California workforce.
At the Law Office of John Dalton, we are passionate about employee rights and focus exclusively on employment matters. If you need a strong advocate in your corner to face an employer that harmed you, please get in touch with us. You can contact us online or by phone to schedule a free consultation.