At-Will Employment and Wrongful Termination Assistance in San Diego

California is an at-will employment state, which means that employers are generally free to terminate employees for any reason or no reason at all, with or without advance notice, provided the reason is not discriminatory or retaliatory. Employees can also quit at any time and without any reason.

However, there are exceptions to the at-will employment rule: employers can be held liable for wrongful termination if they fire an employee for a reason that violates any of the laws that protect employees, such as because of the employee’s race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, reproductive health decision-making or veteran or military status, as well as other factors. Employees also cannot be fired for opposing an unlawful practice, such as reporting health or safety violations, whistleblowing to government agencies, or other reasons. That legal landscape can be tricky and complicated, but our San Diego wrongful termination employment attorneys at Berger & Williams, LLP, are here to help you navigate it.

Our San Diego wrongful termination employment attorneys have extensive experience handling wrongful termination cases in California. Before you contact a lawyer, it helps to understand what qualifies as a potentially “wrongful” termination in California.

Employers cannot terminate an employee based on their race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, reproductive health decision-making or veteran or military status, as well as other factors.

Termination because of any of the above grounds (and more) is illegal, and our discrimination termination attorneys in San Diego can help understand this complicated landscape.

Employers are also prohibited from terminating employees who engage in certain protected activities. Employees also cannot be fired for opposing an unlawful practice, such as reporting health or safety violations, whistleblowing to government agencies, or other reasons such as filing a complaint about discrimination or harassment. What is frequently misunderstood is that a complaint to Human Resources or to management about a non-protected complaint (for example, “my boss is mean to me”), is not protected, and the employer can lawfully terminate an employee for making such a non-protected complaint.

If you have any questions about illegal retaliation in California, our attorneys can help.

In some cases, employees may have a contract with their employer that outlines the terms of their employment, including the circumstances under which they can be terminated. Some employees are also entitled to severance by contract.

While many employment claims in California trigger the right for the employee to recover the employee’s attorney’s fees if they win (without paying such fees if they lose), a breach of contract claim will generally not trigger the right to attorney’s fees, unless there is an attorney’s fees clause in the contract; even a “one-way attorney’s fees” clause (in favor of one party) can trigger the right to attorney’s fees to either party who wins.

Because so many employment claims in California trigger the right to attorney’s fees, it is critical to have experienced employment lawyers give you sound and considered advice, based on years of experience, before issues explode into high stakes litigation.

For example, a “cease and desist” letter on behalf of a company alleging a former employee was disparaging the company can turn into a claim by the employee for employment violations.

Employers cannot terminate an employee for engaging in activities that are protected by public policy, such as taking military leave, take time to go to court due to  domestic violence, take time to go to school as a parent in certain situations, or taking time off to serve on a jury.

Our employment attorneys in San Diego can help explain such issues simply and clearly.

If an employee is terminated, the employer may offer a severance agreement, but this severance will always be accompanied by a release of all claims against the employer. Sometimes severance is tied to a “change of control” (“CIC”) of the company. It is important to understand the terms of any release agreement before signing it, as  any release may affect future issues.  For example, an employer may not want to give a release to a terminated employee, in the event the employer learns after the fact that the employee was embezzling.

Our employment attorneys in San Diego regularly prepare and review severance and CIC agreements. They can help you understand and negotiate these often very complicated agreements.

At Berger & Williams, LLP, we understand the emotional and financial toll that termination, or any litigation, can take on individuals and their families, as well as California businesses.

We also understand the toll that employment litigation can take on a workplace. That’s why we also offer employment counseling to help California employers stay compliant with legal and ethical at-will hiring and termination processes to avoid common mistakes that get employers into trouble.

We believe in protecting the rights of individual and businesses, and one way we do that is to make sure federal and California laws are not violated in the first place.

If you feel you need help with a wrongful termination issue, contact us today for a free consultation with one of our experienced San Diego wrongful termination employment attorneys.