Wrongful Termination: Do I Have a Case?
Losing a job can be severely devastating, especially when you feel something is wrong with how your employer dismissed you. Wrongful termination is a real possibility. If you have doubts, The Law Office of John P Martin can help determine if you have a wrongful termination case.
What Is My Term of Employment?
Many wrongful termination elements determine whether you have a wrongful termination case.
The terms of employment are a factor that plays a role. Various types of employment exist, such as independent contracting, at-will employment, and contract employment. Thus, San Diego wrongful termination employment attorney will need to review your agreement to see where you stand.
At-will arrangements give employers much more leeway than contracted work arrangements because both employer and employee agree that they can end the relationship at any time and without a specific reason. However, both state and federal law prohibits employers from firing employees for reasons they deem protected.
What Are the Types of Wrongful Termination?
A variety of situations exist that may qualify you for a wrongful termination case. These are some types of wrongful termination that may fall under the umbrella:
Constructive Discharge
Constructive discharge occurs when your employer tries to circumvent contributing to your unemployment claims by forcing you to quit. They use various methods to achieve this, and the most common is making working conditions so stressful and unpleasant that you see no other recourse but to resign. In short, a reasonable person would feel compelled to leave because of unlawful harassment, or retaliation for complaining to the employer about an unlawful situation.
You often experience a high level of humiliation, degradation, sabotage, and the like. Some offenders use alternative methods to facilitate constructive discharge. For example, a manager might reduce a worker’s hours progressively and significantly so they cannot earn enough to take care of family obligations after the employer complains about a unlawful conduct that they experienced or observed.
The victim might start on a full-time schedule and notice that the hours decline each week rapidly. Alternatively, the employer may remove the person from the schedule altogether.
Retaliatory Dismissal
A retaliatory termination occurs when your employer terminates you shortly after opening a harassment case or participating in whistleblowing activities. For example, a disgruntled worker might have a meeting with the human resources department about the sexual comments another worker made. The information might somehow leak to coworkers and management staff, and suddenly, the individual may be terminated for a cause that seems unjust.
Discriminatory Termination
Discriminatory dismissal is another form of unfair termination that wrongful termination San Diego lawyers can assist you with. This termination violates state and/or federal law because you lose your job because of a protected class.
-
Fired because of pregnancy
Employers are not supposed to terminate workers because of pregnancy. Instead, they are supposed to accommodate such workers. In fact, under California law, the employer may not discharge the employee or the pregnant worker does not lose her “place” in the workplace (status, benefits, promotion) because of her condition. Unfortunately, some unfair terminations include firing pregnant workers and claiming other reasons to justify the termination.
-
Released because of disability
Businesses are required to accommodate disabled workers so that they can perform the “essential functions of their jobs” properly. All too often, bosses/supervisors/managers terminate disabled employees rather than support them or even attempt to accommodate their disability.
-
Terminated because of religious practices
A religious worker who gets fired or treated poorly may be the victim of unfair termination or constructive discharge. Typically, employers eliminate religious workers using prohibited methods to avoid accommodating their scheduling restrictions.
-
Age plays a role in the termination
Workers who get put out of their jobs because of their age may be eligible for compensation for unjust or unfair termination. A wrongful termination attorney like John P Martin will be able to evaluate and assist in reviewing your claim.
How Do You Prove Wrongful Termination?
Proving a wrongful termination will require substantial evidence, witnesses, and the skill of experienced attorneys. You must contact us immediately if you believe your employer has ceased your employment wrongfully as a “statute of limitations” begins to run when the unlawful act occurs.
John P. Martin is a compassionate and hardworking wrongful termination San Diego lawyer who will put tremendous effort into seeing wrongful termination victims receive the compensation or restitution they deserve. You might find that you have a valid case and can get help fighting the unjust termination today.
