How can I prove that I was wrongfully terminated

One of the most disruptive things that could happen to you in your day-to-day life would be being let go from your job. This can oftentimes come with feelings of frustration, sadness, and most of all insecurity, Insecurity about how you are going to provide for yourself, for your family, and for all of the necessities that you need on a day-to-day basis.

With most Americans living paycheck to paycheck and not having much savings, getting fired could be a devastating blow that could leave them in a very bad position. However, sometimes, employers may take advantage of their position in superiority and fire employees who have proven to be nothing but hardworking for reasons which are completely illegitimate.

If you live in California, you know that California is a state which most likely engages in “at-will” employment. This means that you are choosing to work for your employer and your employer is choosing to employ you at will. If either of you decides that you do not want to work with/for the other anymore, then you are free to terminate this employment.

Generally, this means that employers can terminate you from your employment at any time that they wish to, oftentimes without providing you a legitimate or specific reason for doing so. The only kinds of employment which are at-will involve you and your employer having a contract together which will specify the length and type of employment as well as other terms that are important to know.

When do I know if I’ve been wrongfully terminated?

Your employer has the right to terminate you for unsatisfactory job performance, or other instances where you deviate from what the standard of quality of performance in the workplace is.

However, your employer is not allowed to terminate you for:

• Discriminatory reasons: this can include termination for issues based on your age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, family status, veteran status, or your ethnicity
• Taking leave such as maternity leave, family leave, or medical leave
• Trying to organize a union with your co-workers
• Being a whistle-blower and revealing your employer’s illegal, illicit, or unsavory business activities or practices
• Refusing to commit an act that is illegal
• Taking lunch breaks, regular breaks, and overtime
• Any form of termination which does not align with any guidelines which were given in any sort of employee handbook or pamphlet
• Disputes about unpaid wages and labor

Proving wrongful termination

First, you must prove not only that you were terminated or discharged from your job, but you must show that the circumstances surrounding this termination were not legitimate. This means that it is not enough to simply show that you have been fired from your job. You must also show with specificity the circumstances surrounding this termination and show that these circumstances specifically are what led to your termination and were in fact, the cause of your termination.

This can be difficult to show, as most of the documents and information surrounding your termination would most likely be in the hands of your employer, however, there are ways to prove that you have been wrongfully terminated.

In addition, if you present your wrongful termination case to a wrongful termination attorney, they are going to get straight to work to prove two key issues:

1. There has to be a discharge
2. The discharge has to be wrongful

Here it is important to prove all the facts in your case that you have to support your termination being wrongful. Perhaps you told your employee that you would be exercising your maternity leave and in response, after completing your leave, they told you that you will not have a position when you return.

In another scenario, sometimes wrongful termination follows after workplace retaliation. Perhaps you expressed unsatisfactory job conditions or environment to your employer and in response, they placed you in an unfavorable working place, or cut your hours, only to then terminate you entirely.

Sometimes, workplace harassment can also be a precursor to being wrongfully terminated and can be a form of discrimination which you experience in the workplace. Employers who may not want to deal with the situation may just remove the victim from the workplace in order to keep the peace and to keep the rest of the work environment flowing. If you believe you’ve lost your job for discriminatory factors, then a workplace discrimination attorney may be able to help you get the compensation you deserve.

While you may feel like you could possibly gather all of the evidence you need to prove that your termination was unlawful and thus could return compensation for you, the best thing to have in your corner is an experienced wrongful termination attorney who will, with all of the facts given to them, walk you through the process of proving that your employer wrongfully terminated you for one of the reasons stated above.

Being let go from your job might seem like it is the end of the world, but you do not have to navigate the stress of receiving compensation on your own.

If you have been wrongfully terminated from your job, this can be a difficult and confusing issue to navigate on your own. With offices in Fresno, California, Sacramento, California, Los Angeles, California, Irvine, California, San Jose, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, the Heidari Law Group has qualified wrongful termination attorneys who are able to explore all of the appropriate avenues that you have at compensation against the school or the parents of the child which harmed your child.

Sometimes, when you suspect that you may have been wrongfully terminated, you may not want to take legal action against your employer because you may feel like you do not have enough proof or, you feel that you are just suspecting that you were wrongfully terminated. While it may seem easier to just leave things how they are, you have rights that may be available to you and only an experienced attorney will make sure that you are represented appropriately throughout this wrongful termination action in order to get the maximum compensation that you deserve.

Regardless of whether you are in California or Nevada, the Heidari Law Group is able to assist you at every step of your child’s recovery process and ensure that you are equipped with all the tools that you need in order to receive fair compensation. Reach out to our offices and call for a free consultation today!

***Disclaimer: This blog is created by Heidari Law Group for educational purposes. This article provides a general understanding of the law. It does not provide specific advice. By using this site and reading through this blog, there is no attorney-client relationship created between you and any member of Heidari Law. Further, due to the constant change of the law, some parts of the information above may no longer be good law.