If you recently fired an employee due to poor work performance or simply for committing a fireable offense, you may be surprised to learn that your employee can potentially file a lawsuit against you for wrongful termination. Unfortunately, such a lawsuit can critically impact your business both financially and reputationally. If you’re being accused of wrongfully firing an employee, you should strongly consider reaching out to a seasoned Los Angeles wrongful termination lawyer at once. Doing so is your best line of defense. Read on and reach out to the Lee Law Offices to learn more.
What is classified as wrongful termination in California?
The first thing you should understand is that to win a lawsuit against an employer, the employee will need to prove that they were fired due to a protected characteristic or that their state/federal employee rights were otherwise violated. For example, if an employee has substantial evidence to prove that he or she was fired as a result of discrimination due to their race, gender, national origin, religion, or another protected characteristic, the employee may have a valid claim.
Additionally, if an employee can prove that their employer fired them in an act of retaliation for the employee exercising their rights as a whistleblower, they may also have a valid claim against their employer. However, you should note that the state of California provides employees with a wide range of protections, and because of this, frivolous, baseless lawsuits are often brought against employers for no good reason at all.
What are some of the best defenses against a wrongful termination claim?
There is a wide range of defenses our firm can use to protect you from a lawsuit. To start, you should understand that California is an employment-at-will state. Simply put, this means that employers in California can hire or fire any employee for any reason, as long as the reason doesn’t violate their rights, e.g. firing an employee because of their race.
Because of this, the best way to defend your business is to prove that you, in fact, fired your employee for a legitimate reason, such as incompetence or misconduct. As long as we can prove that you did not violate your employee’s rights in terminating their position with your company, you should be in the clear. Sometimes, employees will even file wrongful termination lawsuits after quitting, and will allege that your conduct led them to believe they had no choice other than to resign, or that you essentially “forced them out” through a discriminatory act.
No matter your circumstances, you’d be best served with a seasoned attorney in your corner who can fight to protect your business and reputation. The Lee Law Offices is ready to fight for you today.
