Long Beach Wrongful Termination Lawyer

Losing your job can be highly disorienting, leading to serious physical, emotional, and financial challenges. However, if you have been wrongfully terminated, the situation can be even more difficult. If you believe that you have been unlawfully fired, it is critical to work with a Long Beach wrongful termination lawyer who can protect your rights. An experienced attorney from Briana Kim, PC, is here to help you secure your rights and fight for justice.

Briana Kim, PC, is dedicated to upholding employment law and has years of experience championing workers’ cases who are located in Long Beach and the surrounding areas. We leverage our deep understanding of California and federal employment law, along with our extensive experience fighting for workers to implement an optimal legal strategy for each new case. Together, we can hold employers accountable and make Long Beach safer and just for workers.

Understanding Wrongful Termination in Long Beach, California

California is an “at-will” state when it comes to employment. This means that both employees and employers have a default working relationship that allows either party to leave the agreement without providing an adequate reason and at any time they see fit. In other words, employees are able to fire employees for any reason at all, as long as it is not illegal. However, many terminations can happen unlawfully, which is known as wrongful termination.

Wrongful termination can take many forms, ranging from being terminated based on discriminatory grounds or in retaliation for exercising your right to take pregnancy or baby bonding or paternity leave. An experienced Long Beach wrongful termination lawyer from Briana Kim, PC, can assist you if you have been terminated for the following reasons:

• Retaliation. It is illegal for employers to fire a worker in retaliation for exercising their rights as employees. If a worker is fired for reporting unsafe working circumstances (e.g. no potable water, patient-on-patient abuse), sexual harassment, wage and hour violations, or workplace discrimination, this can be grounds for a wrongful termination case. Therefore, if you have participated in an investigation or filed a complaint in the workplace and were fired as a result, you may have a legal case.
• Termination based on discrimination. Employers cannot terminate someone based on protected characteristics, such as religion, gender, age, race, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, or sex (e.g. pregnancy status). If you believe that you have been fired on the basis of one or more of these protected characteristics, you could have a case for wrongful termination.
• Breach of contract. Although California is an at-will state by default, a written or implied employer or employee contract may provide provisions that outline different terms for termination. Therefore, if you were fired in violation of the terms of your working contract, you could have a potential case. While more difficult to prove, even a spoken promise with your employer could protect you from being fired.
• Breach of public policy. An employer cannot terminate an employee for reasons that go against rules and regulations dictated by public policy. Common examples include firing workers for taking time off to vote or serve on jury duty or to comply with a lawful subpoena, taking time off to participate in child related activities (e.g. finding a school to enroll your child(ren) in, participating in school activities of your child(ren)), testing positive for certain drug tests that indicate off-duty marijuana use, or refusing to comply with illegal activities (e.g. not paying your employees properly or timely).

Even if you believe that you do not have enough evidence to prove your wrongful termination case, or if you are skeptical about whether your circumstances constitute wrongful termination, it is critical to speak with experienced legal counsel. Briana Kim, PC, offers an initial consultation, where we can go over the details of your case with you and ensure your workers’ rights have not been violated.

How To Tell if You Have Been Wrongfully Terminated

Our dedicated employment lawyer commonly notices that clients who have clearly had their rights violated through wrongful termination cases still tend to question whether their complaints are valid before coming to us. By knowing the signs of wrongful termination, you can protect your workers’ rights and those of others around you.

If the following has happened to you, you may have been wrongfully terminated:

• Breach of employment policies. If your employer did not follow their termination or disciplinary policies, and you were treated unfairly compared to other workers in similar situations, this could be an indication of a breach of contract.
• Retaliation for speaking up. If you came forward and filed a complaint regarding illegal activity in the workplace, such as wage and hour breaches, safety regulation violations, or harassment, and were fired shortly after that, you may have been subject to wrongful termination.
• Retaliation for asking for accommodation or leave. If you were injured (whether at work or outside of work) and needed medical accommodations including time off or lifting/pulling/pushing weight restrictions to recover, and your employer refuses to have a good-faith, candid dialogue with you to try to provide you with what you need and instead fires you, then you may have been subject to wrongful termination.
• Severe harassment or discrimination. If you were experiencing instances of harassment or discrimination that made up a pattern based on a protected characteristic, such as race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation and were fired shortly thereafter, this could be indicative of a greater workplace discrimination or harassment case.
• Quid pro quo harassment. If you were fired shortly after refusing or opposing sexual advances by a supervisor or someone with authority over your continued employment, then this could be indicative of a wrongful firing.
• Unexplainable termination. If you suddenly got fired without any warning or received an unclear explanation, this could be indicative that you were fired on illegal grounds.

If you believe that any of these instances could potentially apply to you, it is highly advised to consult with an experienced and skilled wrongful termination lawyer. Briana Kim, PC, is eager to work with you to discuss what happened before, during, and after your termination and help you understand your legal options moving forward.

What To Do if You Have Been Wrongfully Terminated

If you believe that you have faced wrongful termination in the California workplace, it is critical to take immediate action to ensure you can adequately build up your case and hold your employer accountable for their behavior. By following these general steps, you can create a strong case and fight to protect your rights:

• Keep thorough documentation. Collect all relevant documentation of your employment, such as ongoing communications with your employer that discuss your termination. Such documentation can also include performance reviews, online chats, emails, texts, and any disciplinary actions. If you were being discriminated against or harassed in the time leading up to your termination, it is critical to have adequate documentation of those incidents as well.
• Ask for a written explanation. Although your employer may not legally be required to provide a written explanation for your termination, it can be used as critical evidence if they are claiming you were terminated lawfully. Therefore, it is advised to ask your employer to provide the reasons for your termination in writing.
• File a complaint. Depending on your wrongful termination case details, you may be required to file a complaint with a relevant government agency before you can pursue litigation against your employer. For instance, if your wrongful termination case includes retaliation, harassment, or discrimination, you will first need to file a complaint (by yourself or with the help of a qualified professional) with the Equal Employment
  Opportunity Commission or California Civil Rights Department before you can sue your employer in state or federal court.
• Work with a lawyer. In wrongful termination cases, time is of the essence. Therefore, as soon as you believe you have been wrongfully terminated, it is critical to reach out to an experienced Long Beach wrongful termination lawyer to discuss case details and to preserve useful evidence. A lawyer from our firm can help you understand your rights, determine whether you have a legal basis for a claim, and provide thoughtful legal counsel regarding the next steps.

Generally, if you believe you have a wrongful termination case, it is critical to avoid signing legal documents with your employer or anyone in your workplace before seeking adequate legal counsel. A qualified attorney can ensure your behavior does not lead to inadvertent negative consequences (e.g. waiving any legal rights in the future to sue your employer or employees of your employer) and can advise you on optimal steps to take to strengthen your wrongful termination case and hold your employer accountable for their actions.

Compensation for Wrongful Termination in Long Beach, California

If you have been wrongfully terminated in Long Beach or surrounding areas, you could be entitled to receive different forms of compensation, including payments for both economic and non-economic damages. Depending on your case, you may be compensated for the benefits and income that you had made or would have made if you had not faced wrongful termination, and you may be reinstated to the same or similar position you had previously.

If you are experiencing emotional distress as a result of wrongful termination, you can be financially compensated for the negative toll it has taken on your life, such as depression and anxiety. If your employer’s behavior was particularly egregious, a lawyer from our firm could help fight for punitive damages to punish your employer and discourage similar behavior from happening in the future. We can also work to have your employer pay for the resulting legal fees.

Fight Back with a Long Beach Wrongful Termination Lawyer

If you believe you have been unjustly terminated in Long Beach, it is critical to work with an experienced lawyer who can analyze your case and help you understand your legal options. Briana Kim, PC, is eager to work with you to build up your case, collect evidence to corroborate your side of the story, and bring your employer to justice. Contact us today to start making your wrongful situation right.