Why Were You Fired?
It depends on why you were fired. California is an at-will state, which means that in most cases, an employment relationship with no specific duration can be ended at any time, with or without cause. Therefore, if your employer doesn’t like your personality, runs out of work for you to do, thinks you are lazy (even if you aren’t), or doesn’t like the pictures of your family next to your computer, he or she can fire you for it.
Exceptions To At-Will Employment
There are, however, exceptions to the general rule. An employer can’t fire you for an illegal reason. Some illegal reasons for firing a worker in California include sex discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, racial discrimination, discrimination based on nationality, religious discrimination, age discrimination, and more. If an employee is fired for one of those reasons, he or she may be entitled to sue the company for discrimination. There are also other instances where an employer can’t easily fire an employee. If the employee has an employment contract with the employer or if the employee is a member of a union, special rules apply.
What Can You Do If You Are Wrongfully Terminated?
If you are fired and you believe it is for an illegal reason, you may consider suing the company. However, those cases can be difficult. The employer is not going to admit that you were fired because he or she didn’t like the new religion you converted to or because you got pregnant – the employer knows that is illegal. Instead, the employer will make up an excuse or may even sabotage your work performance in order to make your firing look like it was done for a valid reason.
Speak To An Employment Law Attorney Now
If you believe you were fired for an illegal reason in California, you should contact a California employment law attorney as quickly as you can. The attorney can examine the situation and the evidence and make a recommendation about your case.
At Liberty Law, Micha Star Liberty believes that every employee should be treated fairly and no one should be fired for an illegal reason. If you are in the Oakland area, including Fairfield, San Francisco, and Tracy City, call Micha Star Liberty, Oakland employment attorney, at 415-896-1000. She will work hard on your case.
