Termination of employees occurs when a contract of employment ends. This could be due to redundancy, dismissal or any employment action taken by an employer.
An employee employed at -will can be terminated any time, without any reason. Also, the employer may alter their wages or even terminate employment benefits. However, any termination done for illegal purposes is not allowed.
If your employer has ended your contract and you believe the cause is illegal, you may file a claim.
An Unfair Termination Of Contract
Every employee holds certain rights concerning how their employer may end their contract. If you believe the termination to be an unfair dismissal, you need to look for a wrongful termination attorney Orange County to help you determine whether you are eligible for filing the claim. If your employment contract has ended because of the below reasons, you may have a claim:
- Retaliation: It’s illegal for your employer to fire you because you filed a discrimination claim or you participate in any event leading to discrimination. Unfortunately, most employees don’t know their rights to retaliation at the workplace. Such a case is subtle and requires one to be represented by an experienced employment lawyer who must consider the circumstance or the situation under scrutiny. If your employer ends your contract to avoid making an illegal complaint, this may constitute unlawful retaliation.
- Discrimination: Under no circumstances can your employment contract be ended because you joined a certain religion or you belong to a certain race among other protected characteristics.
- Reporting an unlawful activity: An employer cannot end your contact because you have acted as a whistleblower. California law protects whistleblowers, regardless of whether the employee is employed at will.
To prove an unfair termination, you must show that your employer breached one or more terms of your employment contract.
An employee employed at will can file a wrongful termination claim under three common grounds that include:
- Implied contract: This is a written presumption of employment where an employer agrees to hire an employee through an oral agreement. When terminating a contract, your employer must ensure to follow the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines. Such contract is implied and not implicit and thus may be subjected to changes depending on the circumstance. For instance, any suggestions which imply progress into your employment contact may lead to a legal claim if you are terminated.
- Fair dealing: The employer owes an employee a duty of fair dealing. If your employer fires you because you were about to collect your commission, and never used the right protocol such as paperwork or email, this could be a good ground for a lawsuit.
- Public policy: If your employer ended your contract because you took action against something illegal at the workplace, the court will deem this as a lawful act for exercising your rights.
The EEOC protect employees from any form of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or denial of reasonable accommodation. However, it is tricky to bring up legal action against your employer, especially when you are employed at will. Again, in the absence of an employment contract, such employee has fewer protections.
Where your employer has ended your contract illegally, you need to look for legal help to understand the process. The reason is that certain civil rights protect employees at will.
Wrongful termination of employment is also something that goes against the principles of civil rights laws. If an employee has been removed, then he or she can also file a charge for civil rights violations. This is something that should be pointed out by a legal representative or an expert attorney.
Get Legal Support
Suppose you have suffered because your employer ended your employment contract without any valid reason, but you believe such to be unlawful; you may have a claim.
As such, you need an experienced employment lawyer to guide you and help you understand your employment rights.
Your lawyer will investigate your case depending on the situation and guide you to file a claim with the relevant agency.
With legal representation, you may find that you have additional rights, and your lawyer will help you enforce authority for the rights damages.
Your employer has a right to end your employment contract, but only if he/she is not violating protection laws. Again, your employer is also not obligated to give the notice to end your contract. This is why you should have a lawyer guide you on whether you may have a valid case.
You do have to watch your livelihood end due to unfair dismissal. You need to be compensated. But you also have to ensure that your contact has not been terminated due to the following:
- Misconduct
- Redundancy
- Lack of qualifications
- Fulfillment of a statutory duty
- Any other fair reason acceptable by the law
Where your employer acted illegally; you will get compensated depending on your loss of job security or what you could have earned for the remaining contract period.
There is much more to termination of contact for employees at will. Thus, an employee should understand the compliance guide or legal opinions from experienced lawyers.
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