Wrongful Termination in California
What Constitutes Wrongful Termination?
Wrongful termination is often mistaken, because we often think that unfair treatment in the workplace equates to illegal practice. This is not always the case. Employment laws give more leeway to companies than you might think. Just because an employee was unfairly terminated, it doesn't necessarily mean that it was a wrongful termination in the eyes of the law.
An employer must specially violate a California or Federal law for a wrongful termination to occur in California.
To further understand what legally constitutes wrongful termination, it's important to understand that California views most employment to be "at will." What this means is that both employee and employer are assumed to be working voluntarily and indefinitely, unless a contract states otherwise. As an at-will employee, you may quit your job whenever you want, usually without consequence. On the other hand, a company can fire an employee for no good reason, or no reason at all.
Here are a few examples of potential wrongful terminations:
Workplace Discrimination
An employer cannot legally terminate an employee solely on the basis of gender,
race, creed, disability, pregnancy, religion and a variety of other discriminatory reasons.
Employer Retaliation
An employer cannot terminate an employee in retaliation for that employee engaging in whistle-blowing, meaning that the employee complained to a government agency or even within the company about something that the employee though was illegal. Also, the employer cannot fire an employee for the employee's refusal to engage in unlawful activities. For example, if you are fired for complaining about racism or sexual harassment, to either your boss or to the EEOC, you are protected. Also, if you file a disability claim or testify in a proceeding against your employer, you are protected against retaliation.
Medical/Pregnancy Leave
An employer cannot fire an employee for going on medical leave or pregnancy leave, for being pregnant, for requesting medical or pregnancy leave or for needing medical accommodation. If the employee works for a large enough company (over 50 employees) and has been working full time for at least one year, the employee may be able to go on protected medical leave and the employer may have to guarantee the employee's job under certain circumstances.
There are many other circumstances under which an employee can bring a wrongful termination lawsuit in California. If you feel that you have been wronged, you should seek legal counsel to protect your rights.
the most important thing is not to delay since there are time limits for filing your claim.
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