At-Will Employment Laws
When you lose your job, you lose more than your income. In some cases, you may feel as if you have lost your identity, leading to physical and mental health issues. But just as importantly, your employer has possibly damaged your chances of obtaining future employment, especially if it is brought to light that your employer fired you.
While most jobs in California are “at-will” positions, meaning an employer can fire an employee at any time, there are several exceptions to this rule. If you believe the circumstances surrounding your firing may be an exception to the “at-will” rule, make sure you meet with a Los Angeles workplace lawyer from Mann & Elias to discuss your situation.
Implied Contract Exception
When examining exceptions to at-will employment, the implied contract exception comes up frequently. Though an implied contract may not be in writing, it can still be considered legally binding. In these situations, employees who have been long-term employees of the business or told by their employer that they will have a job for the foreseeable future may have a case that is considered an exception.
If you have been with your employer for many years and were suddenly fired for no good reason, meet with an experienced, trustworthy and skilled employee rights attorney for restaurant workers.
Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
Once you prove you were employed under either an implied or expressed contract, you may have a case for wrongful termination based on the intended covenant of good faith and fair dealing. With this, you and your lawyer will need to prove that your employer acted in bad faith, which led to your firing.
For example, suppose you were fired in clear violation of your employer’s personnel policies to keep you from gaining certain benefits such as a pay raise or due to your employer lying about the real reason they fired you. In that case, you should seriously consider a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Public Policy Exception
When a public policy exception gets raised in a wrongful termination case, it alleges their employer fired an employee because they refused to:
- Break an existing law
- Violate a standing public policy
Instead, they decided to exercise certain legal rights or report an alleged violation of the law by their employer. In any case, an employer firing an employee under any of these conditions is illegal. This exception may apply when an employee is at-will and has no legally binding contract. If you were asked to do something that goes against the terms and conditions of your employment, refused, and were later fired, hold your employer accountable by hiring a lawyer from Mann & Elias to handle your case.
Fraud and Misrepresentation
Another exception to at-will employment in California involves fraud and misrepresentation on the part of an employer. To prove a case of this nature, you will need to show that your employer made fraudulent claims that led you to accept a job offer, only to find out later that your employer’s promises were empty. This fraudulent behavior might have caused you to suffer economic damages. It is common among new hires who left a previous high-paying job to accept another. They were left with little if any compensation for their efforts.
Should you now be facing such circumstances, don’t simply walk away and worry about what to do next. Instead, turn to an attorney for legal advice.
Can More than One Exception Apply to My Case?
Contrary to what many employees who were wrongfully terminated believe, there are many cases where more than one exception to the at-will employment rule may apply.
For example, you may choose to sue your employer for violating public policy and for fraud and misrepresentation. If, for any reason, you believe your employer may have multiple violations regarding at-will employment, don’t stand back and let them get away with an unjust firing.
What if I Resigned from My Job?
If you think you will not be able to sue your employer for wrongful termination because you resigned from your job, think again. Thanks to what is known as “constructive discharge” laws in California, you would be allowed to sue your employer even if you resigned from your job instead of having been fired.
Under these laws, the State of California will assume that your employer created such unbearable working conditions that you had no other reasonable choice but to resign. However, though this assumption will be made by the state, you and your lawyer will still need hard evidence to prove your case.
It is often challenging to find another job, especially if you have been fired from your previous one. Don’t allow your employer to send your life spiraling out of control due to wrongful termination. Schedule a consultation today to make sure you get compensated for your damages and ultimately allowed to return to the job you love and have had for many years.