Practice Areas

Ortiz Law Office practices employment law throughout Southern California and the Inland Empire.

Practice Areas

Ortiz Law Office knows California employment law inside and out

Wrongful termination

If you were fired because you reported something illegal or refused to do something illegal, you may have a claim for wrongful termination.

Medical whistleblower retaliation

The law protects healthcare professionals who report conditions that are dangerous to patients and the public.

Sexual harassment

Examples of sexual harassment include unwanted groping, sexual advances, sexual innuendo, and any other severe or pervasive offensive behavior because of sex.

Harassment

It is illegal to harass an employee because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status.

Family And Medical Leave Act

Employers are required to give qualified employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical reasons.

Health and safety retaliation

The law requires employers to provide a safe workplace, and protects employees who report unsafe workplace conditions.

Discrimination

It is illegal to terminate an employee because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status.

Disability Discrimination

Employers are required to provide disabled employees with a reasonable accommodation so that the employee can perform the essential functions of the job. Sadly, some employers prefer to fire disabled employees instead of following the law.

Reasonable Accommodation

If you have a disability or medical condition, your employer must make reasonable changes so you can keep doing your job — a schedule change, modified duties, time off to recover. An employer that says no, puts you on leave instead, or tells you to come back only when you are “100 percent” may be breaking the law.

CFRA and FMLA Leave

Many California workers can take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for their own serious health condition, a family member’s, or to bond with a new child. Being denied leave, fired for taking it, or not given your job back afterward may be a violation.

Workplace Retaliation

It is illegal for an employer to punish you for reporting harassment or discrimination, for backing up a coworker’s complaint, or for taking part in an investigation. You do not have to have been right that the conduct was unlawful.

Constructive Discharge

Sometimes a job becomes impossible to stay in and quitting is the only real option left. Where that happens, the law may treat the resignation as a firing — and in some cases you may recover wages lost after you quit even without proving you were forced out.

Age Discrimination

California protects workers 40 and older. A layoff, a reorganization, or a sudden run of bad reviews after years of good ones can all be the form an age case takes.

Race and National Origin Discrimination

Race, color, ancestry, and national origin are all protected, and so are things tied to them — your accent, your name, and your hair, including protective hairstyles.

Religious Discrimination and Accommodation

Employers must reasonably accommodate religious practice, not merely tolerate belief. That covers schedule changes for worship, and religious dress and grooming.