CAN I SUE FOR WRONGFUL TERMINATION?

Employees can sue for wrongful termination if:

1.) They were fired or quit;
2.) They quit or were fired due to a complaint about something illegal, or suspicious. Wrongful termination does not exist if the employee is continuing to work for the employer, and they are being paid. Likewise, wrongful termination has not occurred if the employee is working for the employer at the same rate of pay, but has been given a different job due to alleged retaliation.

WRONGFUL TERMINATION REQUIRES:

1. A Job Loss through Termination or Resignation
2. The Resignation or Job Termination is based upon a complaint the Employer has done something Illegal, Suspicious, or Due to a Protected Characteristic which constitutes Discrimination for Age, Disability, FMLA Leave, Pregnancy, Race, or Sexual Harassment.

HOW DOES AN EMPLOYEE KNOW THEY HAVE BEEN FIRED?

The employer’s choice of words may be discrete in order to confuse the employee, in order to potentially de-escalate, or maintain a certain vagueness about the reasons for the job termination. Statements such as we will call you when or if we have work, and then weeks go by may constitute an employment termination. Managers who say the employee is free to apply for a new job, or reapply once their pregnancy is over with are providing oral evidence of an employment termination. If the employee is not being given continuous work, there is a long gap between their next assignment, or they have to reapply an employment termination has occurred.

When an employee can sue if they quit is a complicated subject matter.

QUIT AND SUE IF EXPOSED TO INTOLERABLE JOB CONDITIONS

Besides the job conditions being intolerable because they are illegal, an employee must advise their employer of the intolerability and illegality of the working conditions before they quit. Workers who simply get up and quit without giving their employer an opportunity to correct illegal conditions cannot sue for being forced to quit. In order to sue for quitting a job the employer must know of the illegal job conditions, the employee’s displeasure working those conditions, and fail to correct the situation after being put on notice.

CALL 661-412-9600
FOR AN EXPERIENCED WRONGFUL TERMINATION LAWYER

WRONGFUL TERMINATION ATTORNEYS

Wrongful termination lawyers can advise the employee if they have a strong case, and whether it would be economically efficient to sue. Our wrongful termination attorneys work on a contingency. We are only paid when and if we collect money from the employer. The employee does not have to pay anything up front. Nor are we interested in collecting money from employees if we are not able to collect from their employer.
Our law firm faces considerable risks in taking an employee’s case on a contingency when we were not the ones directly involved in the wrongful employment situation. Many times our employee clients even lack the paperwork at issue, from their previous employer, when they first retain our firm. It is essential that our clients be honest about their job situations, and realistic about the proof of their cases. Helpful clients who obtain documents from their doctors, or retrieve text messages implicating their employers are much appreciated, and help to prove their cases.
We can help if the employee has been fired due to a complaint about something illegal, or if they were not called to work after complaining. Employees who quit due to intolerable (illegal) working conditions may also have wrongful termination cases.
Gripes and complaints amongst non-supervisory coworkers do not bind companies for wrongful termination. Supervisors and managers must be aware of the conduct at issue and it must be illegal, or suspicious because the employee has a reasonable belief the conduct is illegal.
Not all unfair terminations of employment are wrongful terminations. Unless the employee has a contract giving them certain rights it is not illegal to fire an employee for a reason that does not make sense. Firing an employee due to a disability that can be accommodated is illegal. If the employer blew the whistle on their employer and exposed their illegal conduct to a government agency that is wrongful termination. Internal complaints to supervisors or management about illegal conduct may also expose the employer to wrongful termination if the employee is fired due to their complaint.
Lawyers who sue for wrongful termination must be adept at making factual and logical connections. For example, if two years earlier an employee complained to OSHA that their employer was violating a health and safety law, but the manager who fired the employee two years later had no knowledge of the earlier complaint a fact finder and court almost certainly will not find wrongful termination. The employer needs to be on notice of the employee’s objection to the illegal practice, or their protected characteristic in order for them to wrongfully terminate an employee due to those reasons.

All too many times we receive telephone calls from employees who suffer from medical conditions that may constitute disabilities their employers should accommodate. However, the employee never told their employer anything about their medical condition let alone facts about the condition that would render it a disability opposed to an unspecified doctor’s appointment not necessarily for a serious medical condition. The employer needs to be aware of the protected characteristic in order to discriminate against it, or wrongfully terminate an employee due to a protected characteristic.

WRONGFUL TERMINATION CALIFORNIA LAWYERS

Since 1993, firm founder, Karl Gerber, has represented more than 1,200 wrongfully terminated employees. Few employee lawyers in California have handled so many wrongful termination lawsuits. Mr. Gerber has represented additional employees in another 500 employment disputes including sexual harassment and lawsuits for unpaid wages, including class actions. He has handled multiple cases against the large farming and oil interests in Kern County. He is familiar with the issues and laws that pertain to wrongful termination. The other lawyers in the firm also have significant, and long term experience representing employees in wrongful termination lawsuits. If we are not able to represent you in your employment lawsuit, and we do not have a smaller law firm to refer you to, you probably do not have a case. Please allow us to review your wrongful termination lawsuit. Call 661-412-9600 for an experienced wrongful termination lawyer.

2017 OVERTIME VICTORIES FOR OUR FIRM INCLUDE:

Our wrongful termination law firm has:

• Tried more than 50 wrongful termination lawsuits
• Won many appeals in wrongful termination cases
• Won a seminal appeal on the issue of being forced to quit and suing
• With regularity collected large sums of money for employees who are wrongfully terminated
• Dedicated ourselves to representing employees and nobody else since 1993
• Won close to $200,000 for missed meal and rest breaks in South Bakersfield
• Obtained $300,000 when nurses were forced to work on controlled standby in Kern County
• Settled an oil field safety whistle blower lawsuit for $195,000
• Obtained $112,500 for an oil field employee who quit due to safety
• Obtained $672,500 for serious sexual harassment in Arvin

Be realistic about our competition. Few lawyers have represented employees in wrongful termination lawsuits as long as we have. Most lawyers entered into this field within the last five or ten years. Few wrongful termination law firms have handled as many wrongful termination lawsuits as our firm. Will the other law firm really file your case, try your case, take the necessary depositions, advance the right costs, and do what must be done to get you the right results? Anybody can sue for wrongful termination. Our clients bring wrongful termination lawsuits for the right reasons, and receive a quality of representation from an established law firm we do not believe our competitors are capable of replicating.

CALL 661-412-9600
FOR AN EXPERIENCED WRONGFUL TERMINATION LAWYER