If you work in Glendale, Los Angeles, or elsewhere in California, you have employee rights — and thanks to those rights, your employer can’t legally fire you for whistleblowing, refusing to participate in illegal activities, or for reasons involving discrimination. Your employer can’t fire you for making discrimination complaints or complaints about unlawful conduct, either.

Firing you for any of those reasons is considered wrongful termination, which is illegal in California. If you’ve been the victim of employer misconduct, it may be a good idea to talk to a wrongful termination lawyer in Glendale as soon as possible.

What is Wrongful Termination?

Wrongful termination occurs when an employer illegally fires an employee, or when firing the employee violates the employer’s own company policy. Your employer cannot fire you if it’s part of an act of discrimination, a form of retaliation for whistleblowing, or because you took a protected absence. These aren’t all the forms of wrongful termination, but they are the most common; if you think your employer shouldn’t have fired you, you may need to talk to a wrongful termination lawyer serving Glendale and Los Angeles as soon as possible.

A Word on Company Policy

If the company’s policy requires that a supervisor provide verbal or written warnings before firing an employee but the employer fails to do so, the law considers it wrongful termination.

At-Will Employment and Wrongful Termination in Glendale and Los Angeles

At-will employment means that an employer can fire an employee at any time, without having to establish “just cause,” and that an employee can quit at any time. Either party can do so without warning.

Can an At-Will Employee Be Wrongfully Terminated?

No employee, whether they’re an at-will employee or a contracted employee, can be fired for an unlawful reason or for a purpose that violates fundamental public policies. Unfortunately, some employers fire at-will employees illegally, and some of the most common wrongful termination suits we see involve age discrimination, disability discrimination, and LGBT discrimination.

Contract Employees and Wrongful Termination in California

Whether you’re a contract employee at an office in Glendale or you’re working in a high-rise in Los Angeles, you’re considered a for-cause employee under California law.

Your employer cannot violate your employment agreement; it’s a legally binding contract. If your employer does breach your employment agreement, you’ll probably want to speak with an employment attorney as soon as possible.

Unfair Employers Need to Be Held Accountable

Thousands of great businesses are headquartered in Glendale and Los Angeles, but that’s little consolation if you’ve been the victim of wrongful termination. You worked for a company that didn’t respect your rights as a Californian — or, worse, respect you as a human being.

Wrongful Termination Isn’t Just Immoral; It’s Against the Law

Wrongful termination is against the law, just as it should be, because people deserve to be treated fairly.

Age, skin color, gender, religion, and sexual orientation don’t matter if you can get the job done.

Likewise, you shouldn’t lose your job because you called attention to illegal behavior (often called “whistleblowing”) or because you refused to do something illegal yourself, such as shredding documents or squirreling away funds for higher-ups.

You shouldn’t be afraid that your employer will fire you for asserting your rights, either, or for taking a stand against sexual harassment in the workplace.

You May Need Help From an Experienced Professional

Should you talk to a Glendale wrongful termination lawyer? Absolutely.

You may be able to recover damages for your wrongful termination, including lost wages or back pay, loss of benefits (such as health insurance, retirement accounts, or pension benefits), loss of future wages and interest, and emotional distress or physical harm. But it’s bigger than that.

If your employer did it to you, what’s stopping them from doing it to others?

Do You Need to Talk to a Wrongful Termination Lawyer in Glendale?

If you believe you’re the victim of wrongful termination, we may be able to help you.

You don’t have to face the loss of your job through wrongful termination alone. Call us at 818-617-9707 or toll-free at 800-774-4163 for a free wrongful termination case evaluation. We’ll listen to you, ask you some questions, and examine the legal side of your case — and if we can help you, we will.