Have you received a termination notice from your employer? Being fired from a job can be a stressful experience, and more so if you depend on it to support your family. Rather than accepting the situation meekly, it might help to speak to your employer about it and understand their reasons for dismissing you. If that doesn’t make any difference, you may want to look up the best wrongful termination lawyers in Los Angeles and find out if your employer is in violation of public policy.
Is it a Wrongful Termination?
Many states in the United States have at-will employment laws that allow employers to fire their employees at any time and without needing to provide them with any particular reason. So, your employer might have fired you for reasons that are frivolous and unfair, but these will still be perfectly legal. That is, unless the firing is in clear breach of the employment contract, or if you can prove beyond doubt that the decision to fire you were related to discrimination, harassment, whistle-blowing, and retaliation.
You can sue your employer for wrongful termination if they are in clear violation of public policy. However, you will have to produce credible evidence to back up your claim. If the matter goes to court, the jury won’t accept an accusation based solely on your say-so. You will have to provide verifiable proof that your termination was both undeserved and illegal.
Getting Help From a Wrongful Termination Lawyer
If you have a legitimate case against your employer, you can sue them for compensation or to get reinstated in your job. For this, you will need to hire a reputable and experienced wrongful termination lawyer. After all, going up against the high-powered lawyers of a large corporation by yourself isn’t a smart strategy, whether or not you are well-versed in legal matters and court procedures. On the other hand, having someone competent in your corner will boost your confidence and courage. The best wrongful termination lawyers in Los Angeles can also help you in the following ways:
• They will explain the provisions of California’s employment law in easy to understand terms.
• They will go over your job termination issue and determine if you have a legitimate case against your employer.
• They will advise you to take a prudent approach and find some other solution if your employer hasn’t violated any public policy.
• They will inform you about the legal steps to take if you do have a legitimate case.
• They will file the case on your behalf in the legally prescribed time frame.
• They will set about gathering evidence to build your case and prove the wrongful termination.
• They will collect emails, voice mails, messages, chats, notes, phone calls, voice recordings, video recordings, photographs, and more.
• They will interview witnesses and take their statements in written form or video recording.
• They will gather your work records and work samples.
• They will give you a reasonable idea of what your chances are of winning the case, based on the evidence.
• They will participate in negotiations with your employer to settle the matter out-of-court and get you the fair settlement that you deserve.
• They will be ready to take the case to trial if the negotiations fail.
• They will represent you capably in court and make every effort to win the case.
Depending on how the case goes, you could receive fair compensation from your employer for the wrongful termination. Or you might be reinstated in your job. Your employer cannot take any retaliatory actions against you if you choose to go back, and they will also be legally obliged to protect you from any harassment from your work colleagues. Otherwise, they will end up back in court, facing some of the best wrongful termination lawyers in Los Angeles yet again.
However, you might want to consider carefully if it is a work environment that you want to return to. If it is possible to find another job with equal pay and benefits, it might be better for your career to take the compensation and move on to more congenial pastures.