What is a Wrongful Termination?

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What is a Wrongful Termination?
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In California, employees without an employment
contract setting forth the specific reasons as to
why they can be terminated are presumed to be
at-will employees. An at-will employee can be
terminated at any time and for any reason, so
long as the reason is not an illegal one.
For instance, it may not be fair or even a good
business decision, but an employer may legally
terminate an employee in California for having a
tattoo, talking too loud, or even being one
minute late to work. Those sorts of terminations
may be considered unfair in the traditional sense
but would not qualify as an illegal wrongful
termination under California employment law.
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Protected Characteristics
First, it is illegal for an employer to
terminate, harass, or discriminate against an
employee based on the employees protected
characteristics. Lets break this down. A
protected characteristic includes an employees

• Disability or medical condition
• Marital status
• Veteran/military status
• Gender identity or gender expression

• Gender, Age
• Race, color national origin
• Pregnancy
• Religion

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Protected Activities
Second, an employer cannot terminate, harass, or
discriminate against an employee in retaliation
for the employee engaging in a protected
activity. A protected activity can be a number
of things, including

• Complaining about being harassed, discriminated
  against, or retaliated against due to a protected
  characteristic
• Discussing or discussing wages or compensation
  with co-workers
• Complaining about not being paid wages properly
  under the law, such as complaining about missing
  overtime pay or missing meal/rest breaks
• Complaining about workplace safety and conditions

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• Complaining or advocating for patient safety and
  care
• Taking medical leave protected by the California
  Family Rights Act or the federal Family Medical
  Leave Act (CFRA/FMLA)
• Taking time off for jury duty
• Engaging in political activity of the employees
  choice on the employees own time

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Whistleblowers

• Complaining or advocating for patient safety and
  care
• Taking medical leave protected by the California
  Family Rights Act or the federal Family Medical
  Leave Act (CFRA/FMLA)
• Taking time off for jury duty
• Engaging in political activity of the employees
  choice on the employees own time

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Keep in mind that it is nearly always the case
that an employer will claim the reason was a
legitimate one (such as downsizing or the
employees performance). However, the Los Angeles
wrongful termination lawyers representing
employees win cases by proving that the
employers reason was really a lie to cover the
true illegal reason for the firing. This can be
achieved in a number of ways, such as showing
that other employees who do not have the
protected characteristic were subjected to better
treatment or that the termination occurred
shortly after the employee engaged in a protected
activity.
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Hire an Attorney!
Azadian Law Group, PC

• 453 S. Spring St., Suite 738,
• Los Angeles, California 90013
• Phone [phone]
• https//azadianlawgroup.com/contact-us/

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Thanks!
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ngful-termination/