California is an at-will state, which means employers can fire or lay off an employee without needing to give a reason. However, this doesn’t give employers the right to terminate an employee for unlawful reasons, which is known as wrongful termination. There are a set of rules which determine whether or not a termination was legal or not.
Wrongful termination lawyers are professional experts who represent your rights if and when you experience an unjust job termination. By evaluating your case properly, they help by giving you valuable advice and take reasonable action on your behalf. Wrongful termination, on some occasions, can get confusing and employees may not understand the illegitimacy of the termination. Therefore, here are some types of wrongful terminations which can help you get a clear picture of what is right and what is not:
1. Discriminatory Firing
When employees are fired on the basis of their nationality, race, color, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, disability, or any other protected class or characteristic, then it is considered discriminatory firing. When an employee faces discriminatory firing, they have a right to seek compensation against this unfair act and, if need be, hire a wrongful termination lawyer to handle their case.
2. Fraud
At times, the firing of a worker is so wrong and devious that it actually falls under the category of being a fraudulent case. Generally, fraud is found to occur in the final stages of employment, such as when an employee is about to resign or when one is about to be recruited. If employees face a fraud from their employers and wish to claim compensation for it, then they need to show proof for all of the following:
- The employer made a false representation;
- Someone in an authoritative position was aware of the false representation;
- The deception was intentional;
- The employee relied on the representation; and
- The employee was harmed as a result of their reliance on the representation.
The hardest part of proving fraud is showing that the employer purposely acted unprofessionally towards the employee with the intention of tricking them. That requires good documentation as well as assistance from leading wrongful termination lawyers.
3. Retaliation
Retaliation is another common form of wrongful termination. Employers are not allowed to retaliate against employees who have been involved in legally protected activities. If employees have been the victims of retaliation, then they need to show all of the following to build a case:
- Employees need to prove that they were involved in a protected activity – such as filing a complaint about discrimination and harassment.
- Employees need to show that the employer acted because of that activity.
- The employer’s actions were retaliatory and negative in nature.
Seek for Legal Help
If you have ever been fired or laid off due to any of the aforementioned reasons, do not stay quiet about it; instead, fight for your rights with help from an experienced wrongful termination lawyer. At Wilshire Law Firm, our reliable team of attorneys pull out all stops for employees to secure their jobs. For more information, you can always call (213) 805-8549 or visit the main website.
