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Wrongful Termination Lawyer Serving Southern California

Illegally Fired? You deserve justice

It is illegal for an employer to fire an employee who reports illegal activity or refuses to engage in illegal activity. Scroll down to learn more from a wrongful termination lawyer.

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Were You Wrongfully Terminated?

California law prohibits employers from firing employees for reasons that violate a public policy, a statute, or the constitution. It is illegal to fire an employee due to:

• Reporting conduct reasonably believed to be illegal
• Refusing to do something the employee reasonably believes is illegal
• Reporting, complaining about, or opposing discrimination, harassment, or retaliation
• Reporting or protesting unsafe conditions at work
• Refusing to do something that is dangerous to the employee or co-workers
• Reporting unsafe hospital conditions
• Age (over 40)
• National origin
• Pregnancy or related condition
• Race
• Religion
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Disability or medical condition
• Gender/sex
• Marital status
• Medical leave (FMLA/CFRA/disability leave)
• Veteran status
• Requesting a reasonable accommodation
• Reporting wage and hour violations by the employer
• Reporting violations of the law to outside agencies
• Filing a complaint of discrimination with a governmental agency

What is wrongful termination?

The essence of a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy is that a violation of public policy substantially motivated an employer to terminate an employee. (See Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions, Instruction No. 2430.) This is an extremely important exception to the general rule of at-will employment.  “[W]hile an at-will employee may be terminated for no reason, or for an arbitrary or irrational reason, there can be no right to terminate for an unlawful reason or a purpose that contravenes fundamental public policy.” Gantt v. Sentry Ins., 1 Cal. 4th 1083, 1094 (1992).