It is illegal for an employee to be wrongfully terminated for certain reasons in California. Those reasons can include for a discriminatory purpose, a retaliatory purpose or as a form of harassment. It is important for employees who believe they have been wrongfully terminated to be familiar with their legal rights and remedies.
It is illegal to terminate an employee for a discriminatory purpose which can include terminating an employee based on their age, disability, gender, sex, race, national origin, religion or genetic information. In addition, employers are prohibited from harassing employees based on same protected categories. If circumstances of discrimination or harassment are present in the employee’s workplace, they should be familiar with their employment law rights. Workers do not have to tolerate harassing or discriminatory behaviors in the workplace.
Another important protection for workers is protection against retaliation. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees for making a complaint or reporting illegal behavior in the workplace. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against workers for refusing to participate in illegal activity in the workplace which includes participation in an investigation into potentially illegal behavior. Possible illegal behavior that may be investigated includes minimum wage violations.
While many employees are considered at-will employees, they still enjoy these important protections. Additionally, employees who are engaged via a contract may have a claim for wrongful termination if the contract is breached. Wrongful termination protections are important legal protections to be familiar with because so many workers rely on their employment to support themselves and their families. Wrongfully terminated employees may be able to recover compensation for their damages and should know how they can do that through a claim for damages.