San Bernardino Wrongful Termination Lawyer

Wrongful Termination Lawyer in San Bernardino, CA

Losing your job can be a devastating experience. Every day, someone in California is terminated for some reason or another. It could be because the company has decided to downsize, they had a disciplinary track record, or maybe just creative differences among the team. Because California has what are known as “at-will” employment laws, you can be let go for just about any reason. As long as it is not illegal, that is.

If you are let go for an illegal reason, you have experienced a wrongful termination, which is unlawful. It is illegal to fire an employee for reasons stemming from or in relation to discrimination or exercising your rights as an employee. If you have been the victim of unlawful termination, it’s time to file a claim and get the compensation for what you deserve. The San Bernardino wrongful termination attorneys at the Azadian Law Group, PC, want to fight for you. They have the experience and drive needed to take on your case and ensure you get the justice you deserve.

Understanding “At-Will” Employment

In the state of California, you are determined to be an “at-will” employee if you do not sign an employment contract when you are hired. “At-will” employment can be great for the employee because they can leave their position at any time without having to worry about repercussions from their employer. This protects you as an employee from being stuck in a job with an overbearing boss or forced to remain in a hostile work environment against your will.

However, “at-will” employment can also be used by your employer to their own advantage, as well. An employer can fire you for virtually any reason as long as it is not illegal. Although most corporations and big businesses have strict policies regarding discipline and termination from their Human Resources (HR) department, there are always situations where they are not followed.

A boss or manager who just simply doesn’t like you or wants you on their team anymore doesn’t have to make too much effort to have you fired. Unfortunately, that means that dishonest and immoral employers can get away with wrongfully terminating employees undetected. If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated, it’s important that you take action – and that you do so quickly. To file a claim against your employer, you must get approval from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) first. It’s absolutely critical that you move quickly, as you only have 180 days from the day you were legally fired to file a complaint with the EEOC.

With the support from the experienced wrongful termination attorneys at Azadian Law Group, PC, you can make sure that you are compensated for the loss of your job and emotional suffering. In addition, you will ensure that your employer does not get away with illegal behavior and reduce the risk that another innocent person like you unlawfully loses their job.

How An Employee Is Wrongfully Terminated in San Bernardino, CA

In order to be wrongfully terminated, you must have been fired for reasons relating to or stemming from discrimination or exercising your rights as an employee.

There are several forms of discrimination, and not all of them are blatantly obvious all of the time:

• Racial Discrimination: Racial or nationality (country of origin) discrimination occurs when someone is treated differently because of their assumed or actual race, color of skin, or nationality. Racial and country of origin discrimination can occur from physical features, like the texture of your hair, to the sound of your accent.
• Gender Discrimination: Treating an individual differently because of their actual or assumed sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Gender or sex discrimination can also occur when a person is treated differently because of the actual or assumed sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation of a person or organization they are affiliated with.
• Disability Discrimination: Disability discrimination occurs in the workplace when a qualified individual with a disability is treated differently than able-bodied people or denied a reasonable accommodation.
• Religious Discrimination: Occurs when an individual is treated differently because of their organized religious beliefs or spiritual and/or deeply held ethnic beliefs. You can also be discriminated against for the beliefs of those close to or affiliated with you.
• Age Discrimination: Individuals over the age of 40 who are treated differently in the workplace. For example, passed up for a promotion in favor of a younger employee.
• Pregnancy Discrimination: Individuals who are treated differently because of their pregnancy. For example, passed up for a promotion in favor of an employee who is not pregnant or cannot become pregnant.

If there are any signs you were being discriminated against at work, like consistently receiving performance reviews that felt unfair or overhearing inappropriate race-related commentary, and you were terminated with what feels like a weak cause, there is a good chance you experienced a wrongful termination. In addition to many forms of discrimination that can, and have, lead to a wrongful termination, it is also illegal to let an employee go for exercising their legal rights. For example:

• An employee was the victim of workplace sexual harassment, and they reported it through the proper channels to the right authorities. They were illegally let go for “causing problems” in the workplace.
• An employee who witnesses illegal activity going on in the workplace makes a whistleblower report and then is terminated.
• An employee is adopting a child and is eligible for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). When they go to enact their leave, they are terminated.
• An employee and an employer signed a legal contract of employment, and the termination of the employee was in violation of that contract.

Why Should I Hire a San Bernardino Wrongful Termination Attorney?

Navigating the California legal system can be a complex and confusing process. Retaining a San Bernardino employment attorney to guide you through the legal steps is essential if you want to be successful in your case and receive the settlement you deserve. Having a legal team of wrongful termination employment attorneys on your side will help you locate all of the evidence needed to back up your case in court. Your attorneys will know who to get information from and can provide legal requests for documents if your old employer chooses not to provide them without a fight.

Before you can file a claim for wrongful termination in the state of California, you must first get approval from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Your attorney can help you submit a carefully crafted, detailed complaint to the EEOC for their review and can help translate any legal jargon you encounter during the process. Your attorney will have plenty of experience working with and submitting claims to the EEOC and can tell you what works and what doesn’t.

Even if you manage to get your case approved by the EEOC on your own, then you will have to prepare for the civil case or settlement that is going to follow. Your employer will have hired their own attorneys at this point, and going up against them alone will likely result in your loss of the case. Having one of the experienced San Bernardino employment attorneys from Azadian Law Group, PC, on your side can give you the confidence that you are going into the next stage prepared.

Contact Us Today

If you believe your employment was wrongfully terminated, the time to take action is now. Do not wait for the statute of limitations to pass and be out of luck when it comes to receiving the settlement that you deserve. The attorneys at Azadian Law Group want to fight for you. Contact us for a free consultation today.