Lawyer For Illegal Terminations Of Employment

Job terminations are unlawful if done because of certain forms of retaliation or because of a protected characteristic under the law. Not all California job terminations are illegal. To determine if your job termination was unlawful call 1-877-525-0700 to speak to our experienced labor law firm. We have been representing employees since 1993.

In California a termination of employment may be unlawful if:

You were fired from your job because you complained to management about something illegal (whistleblowing)
You refused to perform a job task at work that you told a supervisor, management or higher, it was illegal, or suspicious under the law
You were fired by your employer in an attempt to avoid paying you wages your employer owed to you such as a bonus, commissions, meal breaks, overtime, prevailing wages, rest breaks, or expenses you incurred for your employer they refused to reimburse you for
Your termination of employment was motivated by your race
Your termination of employment was motivated by a medical condition you suffered from including a disability, pregnancy, cancer, or a protected medical leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) called CFRA (California Family Rights Leave Act in California
You were fired due to your genetic characteristics
You were fired due to your age over 40
You were fired due to your sexual orientation or gender expression
You were fired because you complained about sexual harassment, or you refused to allow another employee to sexually harass you
You were fired from your job due to your national origin or ancestry
You were fired due to your sex
You were fired due to your marital status
You were fired due to your religion

You complained to the government that your employer was doing something illegal The California legislature has also deemed the following to be illegal terminations of employment:

Terminations of employment due to the need to take leave to fulfill a military Commitment
Terminations of employment because somebody has volunteer fire fighting duty
Terminations of employment because an employee has jury duty
Terminations of employment because you were the victim of domestic violence or sexual assault.

If you quit your job due to one of the many above situations in this article you may be able to sue for what is called, “Constructive Wrongful Termination” if you complained to management about intolerable job conditions such as those listed above and your employer refused to stop exposing you to intolerable job conditions. Do not quit your job before you seek the advice of an experienced labor lawyer. The ways in which an employee can quit their job and sue for being out of their job, or get unemployment are very technical.

The above stated examples of unlawful job terminations are only a brief list of the various scenarios that constitute unlawful terminations of employment. Because of the legal standards on how an employee’s termination of employment is unlawful under the law, and the many ways in which a job termination can be illegal as well as the many ways a job termination is not necessarily unlawful, our lawyers experienced in unlawful termination of employment cases are available for a telephone call about unlawful terminations of employment at 1-877-525-0700. Terminations of employment are only unlawful if the reason for termination has been ruled or legislated to fit within the criteria California courts and the California legislature have deemed to constitute an unlawful termination of employment. If you were fired for an unfair reason that did not have anything to do with the California criteria for unlawful terminations of employment you probably cannot sue for an unlawful termination of employment. However, if the reason for termination is unfair and the real reason for the employment termination is due to something California law deems an unlawful termination you will have a wrongful termination case. Illegal termination cases as well as employment discrimination lawsuits often involve pretextual reasons for job terminations. This means the employer has stated a false reason for the employment termination, and the pretext for termination is not the real reason for job termination.

Besides what California law has deemed to constitute an illegal termination of employment, you may also have an employment case due to breach of contract or fraud. Breach of employment contract lawsuits usually involve the breach of written contracts. It is fairly difficult to sue for breach of an oral or implied employment contract.

Keep in mind the term, “Illegal” may not mean a criminal violation on your employer’s part. If your employer’s conduct towards you violates a civil law it is still considered an illegal act and is potentially an illegal job termination.

A simple breach of employment contract is technically an unlawful termination of employment. However, unless the breach of employment contract is accompanied by what is called a tort on your employer’s part, your legal action against your employer is for breach of contract and is limited to breach of contract damages unless for some reason a statute is also violated such as a California Labor Code provision.

Job terminations due to fraud may also constitute unlawful terminations of a job. If an employee is falsely recruited to move they not only have a case for wrongful termination, but they may be eligible for a special employer penalty where the fraudulent employer must pay twice the employee’s regular damages. Cases of employment fraud, other than whistleblowing about fraud, require the employee to have relied on the fraud and to suffer damages as a result. Sometimes employers say something fraudulent to the employee, other than the reason for their termination, and the employee does not actually rely on the fraudulent statement.

Employment cases about false recruiting, or keeping somebody employed based upon false promises of bonuses or other employment conditions the employer has no intention of performing may also merit pleading a legal theory for fraud. We recently concluded a case in which a temporary agency and their client lured a Burbank woman to quit her job based upon false statements about the job they claimed they would give her, but never did.

Employment fraud is a difficult area of employment law. There are many things that must and must not exist in order to constitute fraud. The only way to determine if an employment situation may give rise to a case of employment fraud is to consult with an experienced labor lawyer. One of Karl Gerber’s first jury trials, all the way back in early 1995, was a case in which a minister was falsely recruited to work at a church. The case was won on fraud and breach of contract. Since that case Karl Gerber has handled numerous cases about employment fraud. For an explanation of how at-will employment status can effect whether a job termination is an unlawful termination of employment, call us at 1-877-525-0700.

Clients of employment lawyers should not be concerned with the legal label on their job termination case, and whether it is called an illegal job termination, or an unlawful job termination in court. The more important focus should be that the former employee has a legal remedy to proceed against their employer, and a qualified labor lawyer is there to help on a contingency fee basis. Because there are so many different legal remedies that may cover a job termination in California, it is critical for a fired employee who believes they may have legal recourse to consult with an experienced labor lawyer immediately.

The Employment Lawyers Group can guide you through your seemingly unlawful job termination, wage theft, employment contract breaches, or any other legal issue pertaining to your employment. Simply call us at 1-877-525-0700.

We handle all different types of job termination, and other labor cases on behalf of employees.

RECENT UNLAWFUL JOB TERMINATION CASE RESULTS:

$125,000 settlement to a Whittier employee in a food processing plant who complained about illegal and unsafe manufacturing practices and was unlawfully terminated from his employment
$300,000 to an El Monte janitor who complained of illegal rest break policies and was unlawfully terminated from his job
$105,000 settlement for a North Hollywood sales technician illegally terminated in violation of his Family Medical Leave Rights
$175,000 to a former Los Angeles financial professional who complained of financial fraud $135,000 settlement to a Simi Valley aerospace workers who complained of financial fraud and was unlawfully terminated from his employment

In 1993 the firm founder, Karl Gerber, started his labor law practice in Sherman Oaks, California. Besides Sherman Oaks, the firm has offices in downtown Los Angeles, Tustin, Riverside, San Diego, Bakersfield, Oxnard, San Francisco, and San Jose. Our employee labor law firm is capable of prosecuting all illegal termination of employment lawsuits in California. We Take All Employee Cases on a Contingency. Clients only pay legal fees when and if we win. Fees are taken out of the proceeds of the settlement or verdict if we are not awarded attorney fees by the arbitrator or court. Yes, we can afford to represent you in your lawsuit, advance your court costs, and devote our staff of attorneys and paralegals to you for however long it takes to get you through your unlawful termination of employment case because we are an established labor law firm.