Wrongful Termination Lawyer in Del Mar, CA - Serving the Greater San Diego Area

Under California law, an employment relationship is presumed to be "at-will" unless certain conditions are met (e.g., the parties' agreement, either written or oral, specifying the length of employment and/or the grounds for termination). In general, an at-will employer is authorized to terminate an employee for any reason (including an arbitrary or irrational reason) or no reason. However, an at-will employer is not authorized to violate the law.

An at-will employer may not terminate the employee if the termination:

1. breaches an employment contract (express or implied);
2. violates a fundamental public policy delineated in constitutional or statutory provisions (e.g., termination resulting from the employee's complaining about unsafe work conditions or practices, disclosing an employer's violation of state or federal regulations to a governmental agency ("whistleblowing") or refusing to violate a statute or exercising a statutory right); or
3. violates state statutes which prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age or sexual orientation.

If an employee is wrongfully terminated in breach an employment contract, the employee may recover "back pay" (wages and benefits that would have been received under the contract term, less a sum that the employee has earned or could have earned in other employment) and/or "front pay" (wages and benefits to be earned from the date of judgment into a limited future time where, for example, reinstatement is not feasible).

Additionally, if an employee is wrongfully terminated for an unlawful reason or a purpose that violates fundamental public policy, the measure of recoverable damages generally is the amount necessary to compensate for all the detriment legally caused by the termination, whether it could have been foreseen or not.

Further, if an employee is wrongfully terminated in violation of a state statute, all relief generally available in noncontractual actions, including punitive damages, may be recovered.

It is important to note that employees who are victims of unlawful termination may also have valid tort claims for, among others claims: (a) fraud and deceit (e.g., an employee relies on false promises as inducement to accept employment); (b) defamation consisting of libel (damage to reputation caused by false and unprivileged publication by writing or other fixed visual representation) or slander (damage to reputation caused by false and unprivileged publication expressed orally); (c) interference with economic relationships; and/or (d) intentional infliction of emotional distress.

If you believe your employment was wrongfully terminated, please CONTACT US for a FREE, CONFIDENTIAL CONSULATION. We will carefully analyze the facts and thoroughly advise you of your rights and potential remedies. If we determine that you have a valid claim for wrongful termination, then we will diligently pursue a claim on your behalf in order to obtain full and fair compensation from your employer.