Many California workers have experienced issues at work. In some cases, employees are dismissed for what they believe to be illegal reasons. This is why it is imperative for employees to have an understanding of what comprises a violation of the law against wrongful termination and how to go about filing a case to be compensated for wrongful termination. Wrongful termination does not occur solely when employees are vulnerable. It can happen at even the most progressive-seeming jobs.
A woman who was working at a $15 billion startup has filed a lawsuit against the company. She alleges that she was subjected to retaliation, did not receive overtime pay and was wrongfully terminated. The woman was a community manager at the business and claims that she was dismissed after she told other workers that there were violations taking place against state labor codes and because she did not sign a new agreement for arbitration that had been handed out to all workers in the fall of 2015.
She worked from the company for eight months before being fired in November. Her agreement with the employer paid her $42,000 with benefits and stock options. She felt she was classified wrongly making her eligible to receive such benefits as overtime and rest periods because she worked up to 60 hours per week. In her legal filing, she says that her West Coast manager instructed her to stop telling other employees about violations she believed were taking place. Since she refused to sign the arbitration agreement, she was told she was being dismissed.
Workers might not realize that their rights are being violated by employers because they are not fully aware of how the law works to protect them. Some workers are more knowledgeable than others and try to make sure all co-workers are treated fairly. These issues are the crux of the allegations in this case.
Considering the number of people who are working extended hours in the tech field, this is not unusual. Those who believe they might be subject to the same or similar treatment as the woman in this case need to know their rights under state employment law.
Source: buzzfeed, “WeWork Is Being Sued By An Ex-Employee,” Nitasha Tiku, March 10, 2016