WRONGFUL TERMINATION LAWYERS - LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA

Blady Weinreb Law Group LLP’s Los Angeles attorneys represent employees in claims for wrongful termination against their employers. We represent employees in both individual and class action cases throughout Los Angeles County and nearby counties, such as Orange County and Ventura County. If you believe you have been subjected to wrongful termination by your employer, please contact one of our Los Angeles lawyers at 323-933-1352.

California Law Prohibits Wrongful Termination in Employment - Unlawful Termination/Discharge/Firing Lawyers

Wrongful termination from one's job or work describes an unlawful or illegal employment termination, or an employment termination in breach of contract. An employee wrongful termination of employment claim is typically based upon a California or federal statute or regulation, an express or implied contract, public policy or constitutional right. The terms wrongful termination and wrongful discharge are used synonymously to define an employment law claim, such as unfair job discharge, discharge without good cause, unjust termination, illegal termination, illegal firing, illegal dismissal, illegal discharge, unlawful discharge, unlawful termination, job termination, firing from work, unlawful firing, termination in violation of public policy or law, wrongful firing, firing for making protected complaints to employer, termination for complaining to employer about protected matters, termination for complaining to employer or government about unlawful conduct, termination for refusing to engage in unlawful conduct and wrongful dismissal. All of the above are terms that describe employment workplace terminations that may give rise to legal claims and lawsuits against an employer. However, not every "unfair" or "unjust" employment termination will give rise to a lawsuit or legal claim for wrongful termination. Therefore, although an unfair termination may give rise to unemployment claim, only a limited type of unfair job terminations give rise to a legal claim for wrongful discharge or firing from work.

Generally, for a claim of wrongful employment termination to be viable, the employee’s discharge must be for an unlawful reason or in breach of a contract or agreement. If the discharge is not illegal or not in breach of contract, then it will most likely not support a claim for wrongful discharge. This is because in California employees are presumptively or contractually employees at-will, and absent a contract (written, verbal or implied) to the contrary, no lawsuit may be brought against the workplace employer for wrongful termination unless there is a legal restriction or prohibition on terminating the employee. At-will employment generally applies to all California employees, unless there is an applicable exception, and therefore most job termination claims must be based on unlawful employer conduct that violates a statue or other public policy.

Wrongful or unlawful termination is a heavily litigated area of law in California. In recent years, termination lawsuits by employees, who have reported or comlained to their employer unlawful activity either internally or to government agencies, or refused to engage in unlawful activity, have led to substantial whistle-blower litigation for retaliation and wrongful employee discharge. Such whistle-blower claims may be brought, for example, under the California Labor Code, California common law (case law), and federal employee protection laws, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The whistle-blower provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley generally apply to companies who have issued securities registered with the SEC, or are required to file reports with the SEC. Employees may pursue claims for workplace retaliation if they engage in protected activity as defined by the Act.

There are also many other potential bases for a wrongful employment termination claim, including: (1) discrimination; (2) taking protected medical or pregnancy work leaves; (3) taking disability work leaves; (4) retaliation for complaining about or opposing discrimination or unlawful actions at one's job; (5) retaliation for complaining about and complaints about unpaid or owed wages, including overtime; (6) breach of contract; (7) violation of public policy; (8) engaging in statutorily protected conduct, such as attending jury duty, military service, testifying in court, etc.; and (9) retaliation for complaining about an employer’s unlawful activities or requests that an employee do something unlawful. If you have an unemployment department ruling finding that your discharge or firing from work was unlawful or discriminatory, we can review the circumstances of your job termination to determine if you have a claim for wrongful employment termination.

BWLG's Los Angeles wrongful discharge employment attorneys have successfully litigated wrongful termination claims. If you have an employee claim for unlawful termination, you may want to retain a BWLG wrongful discharge lawyer. Please contact a BWLG Los Angeles employment lawyer for a consultation at 323-933-1352.