What Is Wrongful Termination?
Did you suffer wrongful termination? If you believe that you were illegally fired from your workplace, you might have grounds to act against your employer. Depending on the specific details of your claim, you might even receive compensation for your wrongful termination.
What is Wrongful Termination?
In general, employers have the right to fire employees for a number of valid reasons – especially if employees are hired at-will. However, some terminations can be unlawful. Wrongful termination occurs when an employer makes an employment decision based on illegal reasons – that are not directly related to the employee’s job (such as work performance, attendance, misconduct, etc.). What are these illegal reasons? Wrongful termination is often based on discriminatory reasons, such as race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, etc. If your employer terminated you based on any discriminatory reason, your termination was unlawful. Wrongful termination can also be retaliatory; in other words, the termination could occur in response to the employer attempting to exercise a basic employment right (like the right to go on leave, the right to file a safety report, or the right to refuse to work in an unsafe environment, for example). If you believe that you were wrongfully terminated, you must seek legal assistance as soon as possible – you have rights in the workplace.
About Employment Laws and Wrongful Termination
Some of the employment laws relevant to wrongful termination include the following:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
- The Fair Employment and Housing Act
In addition to the laws above, there are also laws that protect employees from retaliation – which could come in the form of termination. For more information regarding the laws that protect you from wrongful termination, do not hesitate to contact the experts at Long Beach Labor Attorney Group.
The EEOC, the DFEH, and Filing a Civil Lawsuit
If you were wrongful termination, you must take action as soon as possible against your employer. As a wrongfully terminated employee, there are a few options available to you – all of which involve federal and state employment agencies, which enforce employment laws and handle employment claims on their respective governmental levels. On the federal level, employees have the option to pursue wrongful termination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). On the state level, employees have the option to pursue wrongful termination charges with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). When pursued through these agencies, claims are investigated thoroughly; if the claim is found to be valid, the agency will take action against the employer. Wrongfully terminated employees also have the right to file civil lawsuits against their employers; however, they must first be granted the right to sue from the EEOC or DFEH. You have rights as an employee; do not hesitate to take action against your employer.
You Could Recover Compensation
Do you have the right to be compensated if you were wrongfully terminated from your job? In some cases, wrongful termination claims result in reinstatement, policy changes, and company-wide training, for example. However, wrongfully terminated employers might also be entitled to recover monetary compensation.
Some of the compensation commonly available for recovery includes the following:
- Lost income
- Lost benefits
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damage
When you allow the employment lawyers at Long Beach Labor Attorney Group to handle your wrongful termination claim, you could be certain that there will always be someone aggressively fighting for your right to recover the compensation that you deserve.
If you would like the experts at Long Beach Labor Attorney to handle your wrongful termination claim and fight for your rights as an employee, contact us today.
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Long Beach Disability Discrimination Attorneys
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Long Beach Wage and Hour Attorneys