San Jose Employment Lawyer on Wrongful Termination

If you have been recently fired and feel that it was not legal or you have been wrongfully terminated, contact your San Jose employment lawyer for a consultation. If you have been fired from your job, you may be left wondering if your termination is considered to be legal or illegal. During the consultation, your San Jose employment lawyer will listen to the story and help to determine if your termination was legal. Often times, employment is considered to be at-will. That means that either party can terminate the employment at any time, as long as those reasons for termination are legal. There are some situations, however, even if you are an at-will employee that you may be able to file a lawsuit for a wrongful termination. The following information from your San Jose employment lawyer will discuss what wrongful termination is and how you may be able to determine if you were wrongfully termination from your employer. If you have any further questions, contact your San Jose Wrongful Termination Attorney for a consultation.

Written Promises from the Employer

If you have a written promise from your employer that outlines your job security, then you may not be just an at-will employee. If your document states that you can only be fired for specific reasons, or if there are promises about continued employment, then you may be able to enforce this written promise in a court.

Implied Promises from the Employer

An implied promise is a type of employment contract that is based on the things your employer has said to you and their actions. An implied contract may be difficult to prove in court, however, because many employers are careful not to promise continuing employment. There have been situations where it was found that the employee was promised permanent employment or employment for a set amount of time, or even set specific terms in an employee manual. There are a few ways that can determine if an implied promise has been put into place. The courts will look at the following to help make that determination:

• history of your positive reviews or feedback
• how long you have been employed
• how often you have been promoted
• any reassurance from your employer about your continuing employment
• whether your employer legally terminated your employment

Breach of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

If you feel that you were unfairly terminated, then it is possible that you can claim that your employer breached their duty of good faith and fair dealing. A court may find that your employer is in breach of that duty if they have done any of the following:

• created false reasons to terminate an employee just so that employee could be replaced with one that will work for less wages
• acting in a way that would keep an employee from receiving commission that they have earned
• consistently transfer an employee to dangerous or undesirable situations in order to try and get the employee to quit on their own
• mislead employees into believing that they will be eligible for a promotion or a wage raise

Discrimination

Discrimination in the work place is illegal no matter whether you are an at-will or a contract employee. If you feel that you were fired because of any of the following, then you should contact an employment lawyer:

• race
• age
• sex
• religion
• pregnancy
• national origin
• color

Be advised that there is a statute of limitations on filing for wrongful termination due to discrimination. Contact your employment lawyer immediately to discuss your case.

Public Policy Violations

Your employer cannot violate public policy in order to terminate your employment. State and Federal government have set in-place laws stating that employees cannot be terminated for any of the following:

• having to miss work in order to serve on a jury
• missing work in order to vote
• serving in the military
• making authorities aware of a harmful wrong-doing in the company
• disclosing that the employer does not pay promised commissions or vacation pay that has been accrued

Depending on the state that you are in, there are other specific situations where it is considered illegal for an employer to terminate you.

Fraud

In some cases, the employer’s termination of an employee can be so devious that it is considered to be fraud. This is considered to be an extreme situation. Fraud typically begins when the employee is being recruited or towards the end of the employer-employee relationship. In order to be able to prove that your termination was based on fraud, you will need to be able to show the following:

• the person in charge knew that there was false representation going on
• your employer made representations to you that were false
• your employer had intentions on deceiving you
• you relied on the representation that you were shown
• you were harmed in some way because of your reliance on the representation

Proving that your employer set out to intentionally deceive you can be a difficult task. You will need to have documentation that can back up the representations that were made to you.

Defamation

When there is a lawsuit to protect against defamation, that means that a person is trying to protect their good reputation and community standing. If your employer has made false or malicious statements about you to others, then that may be considered an act of defamation. In order to sue your employer for defamation, you must show the following:

• they made a false statement about you
• the statement they made was with malice
• they told that statement to someone else, either written or verbally
• that statement caused harm to you; for example: you lost or current job or an employer was unwilling to hire you because of it

Retaliation

It is illegal for employers to punish an employee who has engaged in legal activities. In order to prove that your termination is due to your employer’s retaliation, then you must show:

• the activity you engaged in was a legally protected one; for example, filing a former complaint about harassment or filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• this activity caused your employer to act negatively towards you
• your activity caused your employer to take an adverse consequence against you; for example: you were denied a promotion, you were fired, or you were given a negative review about your performance that was not warranted

Whistle-Blowing

There are laws in place that protect those who are considered to be whistle-blowers. A whistle-blower is an employee who reports the company for illegal or harmful activities or practices. Depending on the state that you are in, whistle-blowers are protected in different ways. In some states, whistle-blowers are only protected if the illegal activity that they reported has to do with labor or environmental laws. In other states, whistle-blowers are protected no matter what illegal or harmful activities that they report their employer being a part of.

Schedule a Consultation with a San Jose Employment Lawyer

Being fired from your job can be a stressful event, especially if you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated. If this is the case, then you want an experienced professional by your side to help you prepare a lawsuit against the employer that illegal terminated your position. Contact your experienced San Jose employment lawyer for a consultation from Costanzo Law Firm at 408-993-8493. Costanzo Law Firm has the San Jose Wrongful Termination Attorney who has the dedication and knowledge to help you fight for your employment rights. Call today to schedule your consultation with the skilled professionals!