Wrongful Termination Attorney in Los Angeles
California law allows for at-will employment, which means outside of an employment contract, an employer can decide to terminate an employee for nearly any reason – or even no real reason at all. However, at-will employment is not limitless, as federal and state employment laws protect employees from certain types of unlawful conduct at work. When wrongful termination occurs, and an employer terminates a wrongful termination occurs to an employee for the reason that violates the law, the employee can take action and seek damages for wrongful termination.
There are many possible reasons why termination may be wrongful, though they can all be difficult to prove. It is critical to have an experienced California wrongful termination lawyer handling your case and protecting your rights. Do not wait to discuss a possible wrongful termination case with a lawyer in Los Angeles from our legal team at Setareh Law Group.
Workplace Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), as well as several federal laws, protect employees from adverse employment action due to unlawful discrimination. Unlawful workplace discrimination can be based on the following and more:
If an employer fires you out of bias for any of the above reasons, it constitutes wrongful termination.
- Race or color
- National origin or ancestry
- Religion
- Age (for employees over 40)
- Sex
- Marital status
- Pregnancy
- Sexual orientation
- Gender expression or identity
- Medical conditions
- Disability
- Genetic information
In addition, employers are prohibited from allowing sexual harassment to take place at work. If you were subject to sexual harassment and it led to the loss of your job, you can take action to hold your employer accountable. This includes situations in which you felt forced to quit because the sexual harassment was unbearable, and your employer took inadequate measures to stop it.
Federal wrongful termination laws prevent employers from refusing to accept a job applicant, terminating an employee, or modifying other terms and conditions of employment (such as salary or benefits) because the employee or job applicant belongs to a protected group.
Discrimination could take many forms and does not even have to be deliberate to be prohibited. Employment law protects against two sorts of discrimination.
Disparate Treatment
When an employer purposefully singles out a person or a group of individuals for poor treatment for an unlawful reason, this is referred to as “disparate treatment.”
A victim of disparate treatment might be someone who is denied a position or a promotion because of race, made to feel unsafe or humiliated because of repeated remarks made by a supervisor or coworkers about women or people of color, pressured by a superior to engage in sexual activity to keep a job, or threatened because of their sexual orientation.
Different Impact
This term refers to when an employer has a policy or practice that has the effect of discrimination even though it does not single out a protected group for special treatment and is unrelated to a job requirement. This form of prejudice doesn’t need to be deliberate for it to be illegal.
Such policies or practices include: imposing lifting requirements for a job that does not require lifting. Such requirements tend to exclude pregnant women or people with certain disabilities. A written test that eliminates almost all non-white people and is unrelated to job requirements. Or prohibiting employees from communicating in any language other than English at all times at work.
If you want to learn more about wrongful termination law in Los Angeles, CA, request a free consultation at +1 (866) 572-6384. If you have been wrongfully terminated, Mr. Shaun Setareh can help you build a strong case and fight for your rights. Call today without hesitation.
Wrongful Termination Due to Unlawful Retaliation
Both the law and public policy prevent wrongful termination in retaliation for an employee exercising a legal right. Employees have many rights under the law, and you should be free to exercise those rights without fear of losing your job. Unfortunately, many employers take adverse action against employees – including termination – who are well within their rights.
Some commons reasons for wrongful termination stemming from unlawful retaliation include the following:
- Complaining of unlawful discrimination
- Complaining of sexual harassment
- Refusing to engage in unlawful or unethical behavior
- Reporting unethical or unlawful behavior to the authorities or government
- Participating in an investigation of unlawful conduct
- Requesting qualified family or medical leave
- Complaining of unpaid wages or labor law violations
Retaliation can take many forms, including termination of the employee.
Proving Wrongful Termination
Employers will rarely come forward and admit to engaging in unlawful conduct such as wrongful termination. Instead, they will often provide another pretextual reason for firing you. You need the right legal representation from wrongful termination lawyers in Los Angeles, CA to prove the real reason for the termination violated your rights.
To demonstrate wrongful termination cases, the discharged employee must typically demonstrate that the employer’s stated cause for the discharge was false and that the firing was illegal. The illegal cause is usually retribution, discrimination, a breach of the employment contract, or a violation of public policy.
It is the employee’s responsibility to demonstrate that the termination was illegal. The type of proof required will differ according to the type of claim. Claims of retaliation for reporting unlawful activities will need different evidence than claims of breach of contract.
Nevertheless, some pieces of evidence that might be used to support a wrongful termination claim are as follows:
- Supervisory remarks
- Emails concerning specific workers
- Supervisors were aware that the worker was participating in legally authorized whistleblowing
The time between the protected action and the employee’s firing is substantial evidence. If there are only a few days between when the worker exercised one of their rights and their termination, it is a strong indication that the firing was unlawful.
Contact Our California Wrongful Termination Lawyers for Assistance Right Away
The California wrongful termination lawyers at Setareh Law Group is an employment law firm which represents employees harmed by their employers. We always seek the full value of your claim, and our clients have received over $100 million in damages from cases we handled. Call (866) 572-6384 or contact us online to discuss potential wrongful termination lawsuits.