Wrongfully Terminated Attorney in San Francisco for Executives, Directors, and Managers
When consulting a terminated executive, director or manager in California, an attorney must proceed diligently through the array of employment law topics to fully understand the events preceding, and leading up to, the possible wrongful termination. In California employment-at-will means that an employer can fire an employee for just about any reason – good, bad, no, or false. However, an at-will employee in San Francisco may not be fired for a prohibited reason such as against public policy, discrimination, unionizing, or bad faith. Also, a San Francisco contractor may not be terminated in violation of his or her agreement. Next, the careful review must be completed of the work environment, contract language, and the employee handbook or manual. Further, employers are often found to have violated public policy or penalize employees for exercising their rights as whistleblowers.
Although the federal government provides some protection to employees (such as the Fair Labor Standards Act or the WARN Act requiring that companies with over 100 employees give a 60-day notice of plant closings and mass layoffs), most employee rights come from the states. In addition, generally in California contracts that restrain anyone from engaging in a lawful profession, trade or business of any kind are void. In addition, the most common wrongful termination in San Francisco is the cause of action resulting from an employee being terminated based on his or her membership in a protected group. This form of discrimination is based on the employee’s age, disability, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or medical condition. Finally, recent cases have also shown that boards of directors and company owners, through their prideful actions, intentionally inflict emotional distress unto exiting employees even at the executive level. If you are in need of a San Francisco wrongful termination attorney call the top employment law attorney San Francisco employees trust the most.
Wrongful Termination (or Discharge) in Violation of Public Policy
Wrongful Discharge is a tort claim which includes the possibility of punitive damages and not merely compensatory damages that a contract provides. This opens up the availability of million-dollar settlements and verdicts. The three most common examples of Wrongful Discharge in San Francisco are (i) refusing to commit unlawful acts like perjury; (ii) exercising a statutory right like workers compensation; or (iii) fulfilling a public obligation like jury duty. If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated and you are seeking a wrongful termination attorney in San Francisco, call the law offices of Stephen Danz & Associates in San Francisco today for a free no obligation consultation. Call us today at 877-789-9707.
Public Policy, in general, comes in the form of (i) the employee’s refusal to commit an unlawful act; (ii) the employee performed a public duty and received negative treatment, (iii) the employee abided by a statutory right like jury duty; and (iv) the employee was a whistleblower. The elements of Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy are that (i) the employee engaged in a protected activity; (ii) the employer took adverse action against the employee, and (iii) there was a cause-effect connection between the activity and the adverse action. A famous case called Moon River included an employee who went on a company retreat and did not want to moon everyone like the others. After that, she became an outsider in the workplace and fired. The court held for the plaintiff because the forced exposure of the bare buttocks is enough of a violation of Public Policy captured in a statute (indecent exposure statute). In another case, a plaintiff received a swift and substantial damages award when she was terminated for serving on a jury (Nees v. Hocks).
Many state and federal laws also contain protections for those who receive adverse actions for reporting employer violations (whistleblowing). For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”) forbids employers from the following adverse actions against employees: firing after reporting violations, blacklisting, demotion, denying overtime/promotion, disciplining, failure to hire, intimidation, reassignment, among others. Other statutes like Sarbanes Oxley.
If you are in need of a San Francisco wrongful termination attorney, call the employment law offices of Stephen Danz & Associates today for a free no obligation consultation.
Wrongful Termination Attorney San Francisco
94104, 94119, 94114
Phone: 877-789-9707
“Mr. Danz and Ms. Porter, Thank you very much for your legal assistance a few weeks back. The problems I was encountering at work were having an extremely adverse effect on every aspect of my daily life. Relationships with my fiancé, friends, and family were growing increasingly tense, and my overall daily outlook was grim as a consequence of not being able to see any viable options to remedy the situation. Your willingness to write, speak over the phone, and meet with me was extremely generous. Furthermore, the way in which you treated my family and I was overwhelming. In a calm, compassionate, and sincere fashion, you were able to explain to us very clearly several meaningful options in which to resolve the conflict I had with my employer. On the drive home from meeting with both of you, I felt for the first time in a long time, a sense of relief and renewed the ability to enjoy the moment.
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San Francisco Wrongful Termination Attorney