Employment litigation is a lawsuit that arises out of the employee/employer relationship. There are a variety of legal protections in place for employees and a variety of laws that govern the relationship between employers and workers. When either an employer or employee fails to abide by the rules or breaches obligations within the employment relationship, litigation can result.
At Sepahi Law Group APC, our attorneys represent clients in San Diego, La Jolla, Del Mar and throughout California in a variety of different employment litigation matters. We also provide advice to employers to help them protect themselves from lawsuits by taking a proactive approach to designing company handbooks and managing relationships with workers. Call today to learn more about how our experienced litigators and transactional attorneys can help you within the field of employment litigation in San Diego.
Examples of Employment Litigation
Most lawsuits arising out of the employer/employee relationship are filed by workers who believe that their employers treated them unfairly and violated laws. Some of the different situations in which an employee could sue an employer include:
- When the employee believes he or she was wrongfully terminated. While most employment is at will, employers cannot fire workers because of their protected status. This means a worker cannot be fired because of his race, gender, religion, national origin, advanced age or disability status. Employers also cannot fire workers for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), for making a workers’ comp claim or for blowing the whistle on wrongdoing.
- When an employee believes that he or she was discriminated against. Discrimination is broadly defined. If a company fails to hire someone, or fires someone, because of his protected status, this is a clear case where the worker could sue for discrimination. There are also other cases where job tests that seem neutral have a disparate impact on a protected class of people, like women or a minority population. This, too, can be considered discrimination unless the test has a legitimate bona fide connection to the ability to do the job.
- When an employee believes a hostile work environment was created. If coworkers create an unpleasant place to work on the basis of someone’s protected status, an employer can sometimes be held responsible.
Employers can reduce the potential for liability by having clear policies in place on harassment and discrimination and by enforcing those policies and providing a way for workers to report problems.
These are just some of many situations that can give rise to employment litigation. In some situations, an employer may even be the one to initiate the litigation such as when an employee violates a non-compete agreement.
Whatever the circumstances, it is essential to be represented by a lawyer with courtroom experience when litigation arises. Sepahi Law Group, APC is here to help. Call us today to speak with a member of our legal team about your employment litigation matters.
To learn more, please download our free An Employment Lawyer in California here.