Employees who have been wrongfully terminated for unlawful reasons can bring claims against the employer. Just like many other states, California works on an ‘at-will’ basis. It means that employers can fire or dismiss their employees at their will. On the other hand, the employees can also quit the job without any notice. However, if you’re leaving the job on good terms, you can check how to write a 2 weeks’ notice letter example. But there’s no compulsion for you to give any notice. The state law has created several unlawful grounds on which the employers cannot fire or layoff their employees. And, if they so, the employees can not only take a strict action but also claim unemployment benefits. All these include complex legal procedures that only an attorney can comprehend. Contact the best employment lawyer to know whether you can plea for unemployment benefits and how to win an employment appeal hearing. Nakese law firm is one of the dedicated attorneys in California having experience in wrongful termination, sexual harassment, unpaid wages, racial and gender discrimination.
Wrongful termination can take place due to various reasons like retaliation, discrimination and other potential reasons. Some of them have been discussed below. You can file a claim if you’ve been wrongfully dismissed on the following grounds.
- Contract claims– Employees can sue their employers if the contract terms are violated. If you are in an agreement in which you’ve been promised employment for a particular period of time, or it limits the ability of the employer to dismiss you, the employee can file contact claims for breaching the terms and conditions of the contract. In such instances, the employer has to bear the liability. The contract can be either in a verbal or written agreement. Your employer should have provided you a contract book where all the terms and conditions have been stated down. If it reads that the employer cannot terminate except for misconduct, but does so, then you can sue your employer for wrongful termination.
- Discrimination claims– If employers terminate an employee based on the characteristics of a person, then there are sufficient grounds to make claims and at the same time, a lawsuit can be filed against your employer. The color, creed, gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, religion, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, are some of the characteristics on which employees may get terminated or harassed. If you win the lawsuit, then your employer will have to compensate not only your lost income and wages but also the court and the attorney fees. Besides this, the employer will also need to compensate for your emotional suffering.
- Retaliation claims– Employers cannot fire their employees for reporting harassment cases or for exercising their employment rights. California labor laws have adequate provisions for protecting the safety of the employees. It means that there are sufficient grounds based on which you can file retaliation claims. You can have claims against your lawyer if you’ve complained against sexual harassment in the workplace. The employer may wrongfully terminate you for reporting against sexual harassment. This is unlawful under California Labor laws.
What should be your next step?
If you have been wrongfully terminated for any of the above-mentioned reasons, you should immediately talk to an experienced attorney. The lawyers have knowledge on different laws, particular to your case and they can take the right steps to claim your rights.
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