If you’re questioning your rights as an employee, then it’s important to determine if you need to seek help from a Los Angeles employment lawyer.
Read here for more details.
Category: Employment Law
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has disrupted the lives of millions of people throughout California. During this time of crisis and uncertainty, it’s important that you know your employment rights.
In this article, we’re answering 7 of the most frequently asked employment questions we’ve heard from California residents.
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Can an Employer Sue an Employee?
If your employer is threatened legal action against you, you probably have a few questions. Is it legal for an employer to sue an employee? If so, what can you do to defend yourself against their claim? What type of lawyer do you need?
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at some of these questions so you can prepare.
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Things Your Boss Can’t Legally Do
There are a few things your boss can’t legally do in the state of California. Employees are protected from unfair behavior in the workplace, including discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and withholding or failing to pay salaries or wages.
In this article, you will discover four things your boss can’t legally do.
A labor union is an organization that represents workers in a variety of industries in the United States. They act on behalf of the worker to negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions for the members they represent. In some cases, workers may feel the union failed to properly represent their members and may consider the idea of filing a lawsuit against the union.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to sue a union for misrepresentation.
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Lawyers for Work Related Issues
Unites States Labor Law provides employees, labor unions, and employers a clear outline of their rights and duties. If you’re experiencing a problem at work and believe your employer is breaking labor law, it may be time to consider looking for lawyers for work related issues.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at several of the most common reasons people hire
The state of California protects employees from a wide range of discrimination in the workplace. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the discrimination pregnant women experience so you know how to protect yourself in the event of discrimination.
Here’s what you need to know about pregnancy discrimination in the workplace.
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How to Find an Employment Lawyer
Whether you’re an employee or employer, there are many reasons you might consider looking for an employment lawyer. It can be a challenge finding the best attorney for your needs when you’re not sure where to start.
Here’s how to find an employment lawyer near you.
Discover the difference between normal stress and stress caused by a hostile work environment so you can make an informed decision regarding legal recourse. Here’s what you need to know about suing employer for hostile work environment.
Suing Employer for Hostile Work Environment
Some employees can handle the stress. Some cannot. Some supervisors and managers are understanding of stress. Some are not. Most treat everyone the same. A few make life miserable for segments of the workforce and target them for some form of abuse.
A workplace can be difficult; even worse, it can be hostile. If your workplace is a hostile environment, you can bring a lawsuit against your employer. But you should know what makes up a legally hostile work environment compared with a generally difficult one. Certain conditions are required for a lawsuit to be appropriate and effective.
Learn more about employment law.
Normal Stress in the Workplace
Occasionally, employees are asked to work longer hours, or it becomes necessary to take on extra work or meet tighter deadlines. There are many stressful situations that occur all the time. This can lead to physical or mental exhaustion. Care should be taken to keep this from becoming a serious long-term problem.
There can be workers who are obnoxious or rude. There can be supervisors who are overbearing to everyone. A company might not offer the benefits and perks that employees expect or are hoping to receive. Workers can be unhappy at their work and feel overworked at times. But none of the above describes a hostile environment.
However, it could be the case that workers feel they might lose their jobs if they don’t get the work done properly or on time. They may dread going to the office every day. They may become depressed and turn to drugs or alcohol as a result. They may develop a physical illness that interferes with their ability to continue working at the same level or same pace. This is when it starts to look like a hostile environment.
If the workplace becomes a source of intimidation, harassment, or discrimination, it can be considered hostile. This could be subject to legal challenge. An employee must feel uncomfortable or fearful of his or her work-space due to the actions of an employer or coworker whose behavior is making it difficult or impossible for the employee to do the job.
Criteria for a Hostile Workplace
If almost every workplace exhibits stress, how can you determine if it is hostile?
For a workplace to be considered hostile, specific legal criteria must be met, including:
- The actions or behavior in the workplace discriminate against a protected classification, such as religion, gender, age, race, or disability
- The actions must be frequent or pervasive – they happen consistently
- The problem is significant and has not been addressed by the organization
- The hostile actions disrupt the employee’s work or career progress
- The employer knew (or should have known) about the actions and did not sufficiently intervene
Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that is a violation of several laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).
Harassment is illegal conduct against a protected class including race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
When the enduring offensive behavior becomes a condition of continued employment or advancement, harassment becomes unlawful. When the behavior is severe enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive – this is harassment.
Offensive behavior includes rude jokes, racial slurs, epithets or name calling; physical assaults or threats of a physical nature; intimidation, insults, ridicule or mockery; offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance.
One example of a hostile work environment is a supervisor repeatedly asking a new mother to stay late to meet impossible deadlines and threatens to fire her if she does not.
Another example is a female employee who is constantly harassed by her male co-workers, touched inappropriately, or made to feel uncomfortable by lewd comments. Male employees can be harassed by female employees in a similar fashion.
Harassment can come from any number of individuals in the workplace, including a supervisor, an agent of the company, a coworker, a vendor who is controlled by the company, or a non-employee.
The victim does not have to be the individual being harassed. It can be anyone affected by the offensive behavior. Additionally, the harassment does not have to result in economic consequences or discharge.
It is also prohibited to harass or otherwise intimidate employees in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge against a company, or for testifying against / participating in an investigation (called the whistleblower’s policy).
Exploring Your Legal Action
The first step you would need to take if you are experiencing a hostile work environment is to ask the offending employee to stop the behavior or communication. If you find this difficult to do on your own, you should solicit help from a manager or Human Resources.
You need to put the offending employee on notice that their behavior is offensive, discriminatory, and inappropriate, and that you won’t tolerate it. Often, this will be enough for those employees who were ignorant of the offensiveness of their actions, or because they are embarrassed by your directness.
The next step is to report the incident to your employer who must have the opportunity to investigate the complaint and end the behavior. This is necessary before you can bring a suit against the employer.
If the employer does not respond to correct the problem, you have a probable cause to file a lawsuit. The company can avoid liability only if it can prove that it reasonably tried to prevent and/or correct the harassing behavior, or if it can prove you failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities that it provided.
Prevention is the Best Tool
So, the question remains… Can I sue my employer for creating a hostile work environment?
Most employers today are conscious of the potential harm in harassment and a hostile work environment. They have policies in place and training programs to raise awareness and deal swiftly with any incidents that may occur. In most cases, employers provide an environment where employees feel safe and free to raise concerns that will be addressed. But there are exceptions. If you feel you are a victim of workplace hostility or harassment, you do have legal recourse.
Employers in California may be able to fire an employee at any time, but if you were terminated for a reason you believe may be illegal, you may be able to collect lost wages, benefits, and more. So what qualifies as wrongful termination in California?
What Qualifies as Wrongful Termination in California?
California is an “at-will state,” which means employees can be dismissed at any time (at will) without giving a reason to the worker. Workers typically do not have contracts, and employers are not under any obligation to keep them employed. However, federal and state laws do provide some protections for workers who might be dismissed for illegal reasons.
Today, we’re taking a closer look at the following reasons considered illegal in California:
- Breach of contract
- Discrimination
- Employer Retaliation
- Violation of legal time off
- Violation of public policy
Keep reading to learn more.
Contract Breaches
Contracts between worker and employer can be written or oral, explicit or implied. If a contract is not explicit, there still may be an implied promise of job security for a period of time with an implied commitment not to fire the employee without good cause.
The implied contract is valid, even though the employer hasn’t made actual promises but acts in a way that leads the worker to think he or she will remain employed.
Employer policies are often spelled out in a company handbook or published guidelines. These policies sometimes provide the framework for the employment contract and usually list the steps that must be followed to discipline and/or terminate a worker.
An example is giving a worker at least one warning before termination. If this policy is not followed for everyone, then there may be a case for breach of contract or discrimination.
Discrimination
Federal law provides protection to certain classes of workers against being terminated based primarily on being a member of that class.
These classes include race, color, national origin, sexual orientation and preference, pregnancy, age (over 40), religion, disability, genetic information, citizenship, marital status, AIDS or HIV status or other medical condition, military or veteran status, political activities or affiliations, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Employers may not make job decisions, including whether to fire a worker, based on these classes alone. If they do so, they are potentially guilty of violating any number of laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Employer Retaliation
According to the Retaliation Act of 1973, it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against workers for asserting their rights, including their right to work in a healthy and safe environment free from discrimination and harassment. If a worker feels these rights are being violated and the fact is brought to the attention of the employer and/or proper authorities, that worker is protected from retaliation from the employer.
Retaliation can take many forms. The worker can be reassigned to more difficult or less satisfactory work. The worker can be harassed, and/or asked to do tasks that other workers are not asked to do. The worker can be terminated unfairly; or the worker may just quit, thinking working conditions are no longer acceptable. In this case, the termination is considered involuntary. It is referred to as “constructive termination” and is a cause for a wrongful termination suit.
Filing a complaint against a company for unsafe or unhealthy conditions in violation of OSHA or other federal or state laws is the right of every worker. Termination as a result of this kind of complaint violates what is called the “whistleblower” law, and puts the employer in jeopardy of legal proceedings.
Similarly, filing a worker’s compensation claim is a legal right and one that cannot be the cause of retaliation in any form.
Violation of Legal Time Off
Federal and California laws allow workers the right to take time off for designated family and civic responsibilities. Employers may not fire or discipline their workers for exercising these rights. Protected leaves include the following situations:
- Family and Medical Leave
- Military Leave
- Voting and Jury Duty
- Pregnancy
Let’s take a closer look.
Family and Medical Leave
The Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that allows workers to take time off for medical or family emergencies. California has a similar law but it is modified somewhat to include domestic partners in the definition of “family member.” Workers who take the FMLA leave are legally entitled to return to their previous position following the leave.
Military Leave
Workers are permitted by federal law to take up to five years of leave to serve in the military and must be reinstated when they return to work. The law protects workers from being discharged without good cause for up to one year after they return from duty. It also protects them from discrimination based on their military service.
Voting and Jury Time Leave
If there is not enough time to vote during non-working hours, California allows workers time to casts their ballots with up to two hours of paid time off, taken at the beginning or end of the worker’s shift.
The state of California also allows workers unpaid leave for jury service. Employers may not penalize workers for jury service or they may be given wrongful termination penalties as well as criminal sanctions.
Pregnancy Leave
California employers with at least five workers must provide those eligible workers with up to four months of disability leave for pregnancy. The time given is in addition to the time off provided under the family and medical leave laws. A California worker is allowed to take four months off for a pregnancy leave and another 12 weeks off for nurturing and bonding.
California also grants up to 10 days leave to eligible workers to visit with a spouse who is on leave from active military duty. The state also provides time off for a child’s daycare or school activities, for domestic violence or drug abuse, for alcohol or drug rehabilitation or for bone marrow or organ donor leave. A worker may not be terminated for taking advantage of these protected leaves.
Violation of Public Policy
Claims of violation of public policy are similar to but slightly different from, retaliation claims. While retaliation claims are based on specific and specified rights and laws, claims for public policy violation need not be based on labor laws or even specific statutes.
If a worker is asked to do something illegal and is fired for not doing so, the employer is guilty of wrongful termination. No one should be fired for protesting or refusing to participate in illegal or unethical behavior.
Violating public policy resulting in wrongful termination is a form of personal injury, which means a worker can collect not only lost wages and benefits but also damages for emotional distress as well as punitive damages (if an employer’s actions are particularly egregious or harmful).
Conclusion
Employers in California can terminate an employee at any time, with or without notice. However, the state has created several laws that protect employees from being fired for reasons considered unethical.
- Breach of contract
- Discrimination
- Employer Retaliation
- Violation of legal time off
- Violation of public policy
If you were let go from employment due to one of these reasons, you can collect lost wages, benefits, and more. To get started, you need to find an attorney who specializes in employment law. This type of attorney will be knowledgeable of California employment law and guide you toward a resolution.
If you’re not sure where to find an attorney, we can help!
Give us a call at 818-340-4529 or fill our the attorney request form and we’ll help match you to the best attorney for your needs in your area. To keep things simple, we’ll even help you schedule a free consultation so you can discuss your legal matter and make a more informed decision.
