WHAT IS WRONGFUL TERMINATION?

How do you know if you were wrongfully fired? Consult an employment attorney from the Law Offices of Alex Tovarian to see if you have a valid claim.

You may have recently been in a job that looked promising, had excellent benefits, and provided a clear path toward promotion and higher wages. However, for reasons that now seems contrived or even retaliatory, you were suddenly and unceremoniously terminated, and your life is now in turmoil. Are there any legal options for you under California law if you feel you were wrongfully fired?

Wrongful Termination Law

You may have a claim for wrongful termination under certain circumstances and should immediately consult with a wrongful termination lawyer. California law does allow an employer to fire you at-will in many instances, meaning that your employer does not need a reason to terminate you. However, you may not be terminated if your employer violated a state policy, federal or state statute, or if your employment contract or employee manual specified or implied that you can only be terminated for good or just cause. Even if you do not have a written contract, your employer may have acted in the past to have terminated persons in similar positions based on certain reasons only, so that this constitutes a modification of the at-will principle. 

“Good cause” for termination is defined as “fair and honest reasons, regulated by good faith on the part of the employer, that are not trivial, arbitrary, or capricious, unrelated to business need or goals, or pretextual.” Again, this applies only if you are not an at-will employee or you were fired for a prohibited reason. 

Also, your employer cannot fire you based on a reason that is discriminatory, such as your race, religion, age or sexual orientation, and may not take retaliatory measures to punish you for exercising certain rights such as for filing a worker’s compensation claim, complaining about working conditions or a violation of worker’s rights, or cooperating with an investigation of the employer. If your employment contract specified certain grounds for your termination such as habitual neglect of job duties, incompetence, or serious misconduct, then the employer must specify that as the reason, offer evidence in support, and allow you a reasonable opportunity to dispute it. If you employer did terminate you for a discriminatory purpose, for having exercised certain rights, or for a cause that was unreasonable, if applicable, you may have a credible wrongful termination lawsuit. 

Some of the more common grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit are listed below:

Firing on Discrimination Grounds: Federal and state laws protect employees from being wrongfully fired if based on discrimination. This includes:

  • Religion

  • National origin

  • Race

  • Color

  • Gender

  • Sexual preference or orientation

  • Gender identity

  • Political affiliation or activities

  • Pregnancy

  • Physical disability

  • Mental disability

  • Age

  • Marital status

  • AIDS or HIV victim

Although employers will typically allege that you were fired for a non-discriminatory reason or because you worked as an at-will employee, your employee rights attorney will need to conduct a full investigation to determine if, for example, your employer has a history or pattern of having fired pregnant workers, those who are over a certain age, were gay or lesbian, or for any of the other discriminatory factors listed above.

If you believe that you were wrongfully terminated by your employer, consult employment lawyer Alex Tovarian to investigate your allegations that led to your wrongful termination.