San Francisco Wrongful Termination Attorneys

The San Francisco wrongful termination attorneys at Minnis & Smallets represent employees unlawfully terminated from their jobs. When your employer hires you, you enter employment “at will.” That means you can be fired at any time, whether or not there is a reason for your firing. However, when the reason behind your firing is illegal (i.e., discrimination or retaliation), you have a wrongful termination case on your hands.

Violations Of Public Policy

When your employer violates public policy by firing you, that is illegal. Some examples of violating public policy include:

• Firing you for participating in jury duty
• Firing you for serving in the military or National Guard
• Firing you for taking time off work to vote
• Firing you after revealing information about some wrongdoing harmful to the public

In addition to protecting employees from being fired for practicing public policy, California laws prevent employees from being fired because they exercise a legal right. This legal right can be as common as filing for workers’ compensation benefits after being injured at work.

Violations Of Whistleblowing Rights

As an employee, you have the right to report any activities that are unlawful or harmful.  

When your employer retaliates against you for exercising your whistleblowing rights by firing you, that is an example of wrongful termination.

Even before firing you, employers can retaliate against you, punish you, or make your workplace hostile. These are also violations of your whistleblowing rights.

Discrimination

Another example of wrongful termination is termination based on discrimination. Federal and state laws prevent employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, and nationality. In addition to these factors, there are other ways that you can be discriminated against.

If your employer fires you because of your age, your disability, or the fact that you were pregnant, you have also been wrongfully terminated.

Retaliation

Another example of wrongful termination is when your employer fires you in retaliation for whistleblowing. There are several legally protected activities that you can do as an employee without fearing retaliation. These actions include filing a complaint against your employer for engaging in an illegal action, like harassment or discrimination.

To prove that your termination was a result of retaliation, there are a few elements that your termination must have:

• You were shortly terminated after performing a legally protected activity
• That activity motivated your employer to act. For example, your employer reprimanded you after you filed a sexual harassment complaint.
• Your employer’s actions caused you to experience adverse reactions. These adverse reactions can be a demotion, a negative performance review, or a reprimand.

Contact An Experienced San Francisco Wrongful Termination Attorney Today

If you believe your termination violated your federal or state laws, you should seek the advice of a San Francisco wrongful termination attorney. Our team has helped clients who were wrongfully terminated throughout the San Francisco area. To learn how the team at Minnis & Smallets can help your situation, submit our contact form to schedule a consultation today. You deserve to be compensated for wages lost due to wrongful termination.