Los Angeles California Employment Law Blog

Many people work jobs that they don't like or don't feel comfortable with. The reality is that not everyone is going to get along with everyone else in the workplace. Some people may be better suited to a busy work environment or to a quiet work area than others.

What people don't need to put up with is a hostile work environment. A hostile work environment is not just an environment that is unpleasant to work in. There are specific legal requirements that have to be met if you want to make a claim for dealing with a hostile environment on the job.

A wrongful termination can cause your life to spiral out of control. One moment, you have a solid income. The next, you're struggling to get by.

A wrongful termination is hurtful in more ways than one. It is financially painful, but it also causes great emotional distress over the cause of the firing. Unfortunately, the number of small businesses being accused of this kind of action is increasing. A Dec. 16 report indicates that employment-related claims are rising against small businesses.

Many people have lost their jobs for reasons they find ridiculous or completely made up. However, in almost every state, including California, your employer can fire you for almost any reason without notice. This is because most employment is at-will. In other words, you are allowed to quit for any reason, but you can also be fired for no good reason.

This may seem disadvantageous to workers, but there are laws in place to protect workers in at-will employment states. For example, if you have a contract with your employer, your employer is not allowed to violate that contract to fire you. Employers also are not legally permitted to fire you in retaliation for acting as a whistleblower, filing an EEOC complaint, or reporting illegal activities within the company.

Workplace discrimination and harassment claims are on the rise, and California lawmakers are making every effort to put an end to these behaviors and make sure that all workers are treated equally. A few essential California workplace laws will go into effect on January 1, 2020, in an effort to curb the mistreatment of employees.

Under AB 9, or the Stop Harassment and Reporting Extension Act, workers will have an extended amount of time to submit their initial harassment or discrimination claims to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Previously, workers had only one year from the date of the illegal misconduct to submit their claims, but they will now have three years. The employee will be asked to provide basic information about the discriminatory or harassing behaviors and will then receive a "right to sue" letter from the DFEH. This extended time will help employees who do not know their rights or are afraid to come forward against a supervisor.