Employees in California benefit from relatively robust legal protections. When compared with other states, California has relatively worker-friendly employment policies. California’s lawmakers have enacted statutes that expand on federal programs and expand the protection for workers.
For example, disability protections apply to more workers in California than in most other states thanks to state law. The California Family Rights Act helps round out the protections created by the Family and Medical Leave Act at the federal level. Court rulings have even made the enforcement of non-compete agreements a non-issue for California employees.
One of the many laws related to employment in California establishes that it is an at-will employment state. In other words, employees can quit their jobs at any time without consequences, and companies can fire workers for any reason or no reason whatsoever. Even if companies can justify terminating workers in a variety of circumstances, workers still have the option of asserting that a wrongful termination occurred in some scenarios.
When does a firing or layoff constitute wrongful termination?
When the company discriminates
State and federal laws protect workers from having their employers consider certain personal characteristics when making decisions about who to hire, how much to pay or who to promote. Factors like race, age and sex should not influence a worker’s employment opportunities.
If the company makes it clear that a worker’s protected characteristics are what inspired a termination or if many workers with the same characteristic get let go at the same time during layoffs, that can be an indicator that a firing was discriminatory. Companies that discriminate when deciding who to retain and who to fire may have conducted a wrongful termination.
When the termination is retaliatory
Just like the law protects certain characteristics, it also protects certain worker activities. Employees have the right to report harassment. They can ask for medical accommodations or unpaid leave without worrying about punishment.
In scenarios where organizations decide to terminate workers because they engaged in protected activities, that may be a retaliatory firing. Punishing a worker for asserting their rights by ending their job is a form of wrongful termination.
Employees who have documentation affirming that a company discriminated or retaliated against them may have grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit. Discussing the circumstances of a recent job loss with a skilled legal team can help employees explore whether they may have grounds to take legal action.