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If you arrive to work on time, do your job well and you do not take an excessive amount of time off you can expect to keep your job, right? Not necessarily. California, like every other state, has an at-will rule when it comes to employment. This means that an employer can fire you without giving a reason.
If you did your job correctly and you did not have attendance problems, you may suspect you were fired for reasons that are personal and possibly illegal. If you can prove you were let go for reasons that are against the law, you may be able to sue your employer for wrongful termination.
If you think you have been unjustly fired, you should talk to an attorney about your case. There are five basic things people misunderstand about wrongful termination.
1. Wrongful Termination Lawsuits are for People in Protected Classes
One reason people file wrongful termination lawsuits is that they feel they have been discriminated against because of their age, race, gender, sexual preference, or disability, they may file a complaint with the EEOC. If the EEOC accepts the case, they may then file a lawsuit. However, there are many other reasons a person can file a wrongful termination suit.
If you were discriminated against for your religion or lack thereof, you can file a discrimination lawsuit even if you are not disabled or of a certain race or gender. If your company breached a contract with you, you may have a wrongful termination case. You may also have a case if your company retaliated against you for filing a worker’s comp claim or turned them in for illegal activities.
2. You Can Only File a Suit if You Were Fired, Not if You Quit
If a company coerced you into quitting, you may definitely file a lawsuit against them; in fact, it is a major reason why people file discrimination lawsuits against their former employers.
A breach of good faith and fair dealing lawsuit may take place when an employer has taken actions that forced an employee to quit. They might have changed a salesman’s territory to a less lucrative one or they might have told a person that they have to transfer to another location if they wish to keep their job. They may transfer a salesperson to a different job so the salesperson will not be able to get a commission that they are owed.
3. Employers Always Settle Out of Court to Get the Case Over With and Protect Their Brand
Many companies are staffed with teams of attorneys whose job it is to deal with wrongful termination lawsuits. They are not afraid of bad publicity because they have an entire publicity department. You need to collect evidence, get witness testimonies, and hire an attorney who knows employment law.
4. My Employer Can Fire Me For Discussing How Much I Make
Your employer may tell you that it is against company policy to tell other employees how much you make, however, this actually violates a 2014 executive order by President Obama. You can actually post your salary on social media and there is nothing your employer can do about it. If an employer fires you for this reason, it may be considered retaliation.
5. People Over 40 Cannot get Fired
Although there are laws protecting older employees from discrimination, a person over 40 can still be fired if they do not do their job well. There are also certain exceptions to the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. If a company has fewer than 20 employees or if they operate for less than 20 weeks a year, they are exempt from the law.
If you feel you have lost your job for a reason that is illegal, contact Wrongful Termination Lawyer Steven Rubin. He is well versed in employment law in The Golden State.
An attorney can set your views about employment law straight and get you the money to move forward with your career.
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