California Labor Law: Recourse for At-Will Termination?

San Bernadino, CAJill is one of countless people who has been terminated without cause, and some employers take advantage of the California Labor Law. The state of California labor code presumes that employees are "at will", which means that employees working under an employment contract can only be terminated for reasons in their contract.

According to Jill, her employer says that she quit, but Jill believes she was terminated because she was going to file a workers' compensation claim. But according to the California labor law, It's illegal for an employer to terminate an employee in retaliation for filing a discrimination or safety claim or for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Furthermore, Jill was diagnosed with scoliosis and arthritis: it is also illegal for employers to terminate or discriminate against employees for disability.
Jill, aged 51, was terminated April 22, 2009.

She was scheduled for a MRI and physical therapy this June, but she no longer has health insurance after losing her job. "I worked in a veterinary hospital and did lots of heavy lifting," she says. "I know the scoliosis is from childhood but a lot of my injuries were directly related to work and my boss knew this. If I had continued working I would have had a workers' compensation claim and I believe my employer didn't want to pay…

"I loved my job and I was very good at it; I worked there for almost three years without any complaints, only exemplary reviews. But it was starting to become a hostile work environment and I had taken a complaint regarding another employee's attitude --per office policy-- to my immediate supervisor. My complaint was that the office manager had said some derogatory remarks about me and the old office manager to a vendor —I actually heard her. She said I couldn't be trusted to do part of my job. The vendor could have interpreted that as stealing inventory, for instance.

My supervisor thanked me for talking to her and said 'I will nip this in the bud,'. I clocked in the next morning, was called into the office and said that I was released from my contract. They didn't give me a reason. Instead, they said that I asked to get out of my contract. I had no intention of quitting my job.

When I claimed for unemployment I was approved right away because the employment office determined that I had been terminated without just cause. If you quit or get fired with cause, it is almost impossible to get unemployment insurance, so I was worried. In order to get unemployment insurance in the state of California, you basically have to get laid off due to cutbacks or termination due to discrimination. California is an at-will state but in this case, my employer had to pay me unemployment insurance. They actually told the investigator that I was going to get written up on an issue but I quit instead. I didn't do anything to get written up for—they just made it up. Luckily the employment office saw my side of the story.

I also had to file a claim with the labor board to get monies owed me—my vacation pay. And because of my claim, two other former employees and a current employee who quit were also paid vacation pay; none of them had been paid; I don't know why they didn't contact the labor board beforehand.

My employer violated other California labor laws. If we had a meeting after work or at lunchtime, we didn't get paid overtime. We never got a 10-minute rest break either. And here's another violation: the day they fired me, I didn't get my final paycheck. It was mailed to me the following week; there were no deductions which is also illegal. I settled with my employer out of court through the labor board regarding my vacation pay—I could have pursued it and gotten penalties but I just wanted to get it over with.

I know money is tight with my employer but they have a bad track record. I paid 50 percent of my health insurance which amounted to $250 per month. That could have been another reason why they let me go: it saved them $200 per month in my health premiums. Most of the other employees were on their husbands' insurance plans. One reason I worked there was to keep my health insurance active; now I don't have any health insurance and I'm still looking for work. We have 12 percent unemployment here right now so I'm worried because my unemployment insurance will run out in four months.

One attorney said I have a case but there is no money in it. However, if I was able to get my job back, I would return. My friends are still there, hating the atmosphere but loving their job. Health insurance was so important to me. I live on pain meds and don't have a doctor anymore. And I don't qualify for government subsidies because I have some savings. If you have over $3,000 you aren't eligible for Medi-Cal. If I spend every dime, then I might get it. In retrospect, if I wasn't honest and up-front with my employer about my medical condition, if I filed a compensation claim, perhaps they wouldn't have found a reason to terminate me…"

A labor law attorney can tell Jill whether or not her employer has violated the California Labor Law and advise her regarding legal action.