Filing a lawsuit against your employer is often a challenge, especially if you work for a company with ample resources to use toward legal representation and protection. Often, companies are well-protected by workers’ compensation insurance. However, employees can successfully win lawsuits against their employer with good legal representation.
Do you feel you have been mistreated by your employer? Speak with an Orange County employment attorney to protect your rights as an employee. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our expert labor law attorneys, please call 949-727-9300.
As the employees hold a responsibility to be loyal workers, employers have their own set of responsibilities owed back to their staff. When an employer abuses their power and mistreats their employees, they need to be held accountable for their negligence. But what acts of negligence can you hold your boss accountable for? This article will address the common reasons why an employee sues their employer.
What Can You Sue Your Employer For?
Any employee who experiences a workplace illness or injury in California can usually seek financial compensation using workers’ comp. Workers’ compensation insurance typically provides employees with compensation for lost wages and medical bills associated with an on-the-job injury. Workers’ compensation also covers disability benefits, where the disability is permanent or temporary, as well as death benefits should a fatal workplace accident occur.
Workers’ compensation insurance offers protection to employers by helping to reduce the risk of lawsuits being filed against them. However, it is essential to remember that because your employer has worker’s compensation insurance doesn’t mean that you cannot sue the employer.
When it comes to workplace injuries, several reasons exist as to why an employee may choose to file a lawsuit rather than rely on workmans’ comp. One of the most common reasons is that the policy does not provide appropriate coverage for all medical costs and loss of wages associated with the injury. Additional reasons may include a situation where an employer mismanaged a claim or failed to carry the proper insurance.
What is unfair treatment at work?
Although the most common types of lawsuits against an employer involve workman’s compensation claims, there are many other reasons to sue your employer, including discrimination, wrongful termination, breach of contract, or harassment, to name a few.
Here are some of the other reasons why you might sue your employer:
Employer Retaliation for Protected Employee Activities
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an employee is protected from retaliation from an employer when performing certain protected activities, such as:
- Filing an EEOC complaint, charge, lawsuit, or investigation, or participating as a witness to those situations.
- Bringing a complaint of harassment or discrimination in the workplace to a manager or supervisor.
- Participating as a witness in an employer’s alleged harassment investigation.
- Failing to comply with orders that constitute discrimination.
- Resisting workplace sexual advances and intervening in an effort to protect other employees from sexual advances.
- Requesting accommodations for disabilities or religious practices.
- Inquiring about salary and wage information in an attempt to uncover discriminatory wage gaps.
When an employer chooses to retaliate against any employee for participating in these activities, they violate the law, opening the door for a lawsuit.
Wrongful Termination
An employee could file a lawsuit against an employer if they were terminated unlawfully. Typically, these cases involve situations where the employee was fired from a job for no reason or without proper notice or in retaliation for one of the protected activities listed above.
Discrimination
An employee could sue an employer for discrimination if they were treated differently over protected characteristics, such as gender or race. Protected characteristics also include:
- Disability
- Pregnancy
- Age
- Religion
- Skin Color
- Sexual Orientation
- National Origin
Harassment
Harassment can occur when coworkers, supervisors, or employers speak or behave in such a way to make an employee uncomfortable. Usually, it involves derogatory, inappropriate, or offensive actions or remarks. These behaviors create hostile work environments.
Sexual harassment can occur when coworkers, supervisors, or employers make unwelcomed sexual advances toward an employee. Often, the employee feels they are being pressured to reciprocate or, at least, not report the incident, at the risk of losing their job.
Is It Worth it to Sue Your Employer?
Should you decide to sue an employer, you’ll need to do more than show that they made a wrong decision. Filing a workplace lawsuit can open you up to a long, stressful legal process, as well as to a lot of scrutiny.
You will likely lose your case if you do not have a valid legal claim as listed above. It is important to avoid allowing personal animosity to get in the way. Just because you didn’t get your way at work or felt like you were shortchanged, unless there is evidence of illegal behavior on the part of your employer, filing a lawsuit is a waste of time and money.
It is best to discuss your case with an experienced workplace lawsuit attorney before deciding how best to move forward.
Can I sue my job for emotional distress?
Any employee in California that has been the target of wrongful termination, retaliation, harassment, or discrimination by an employer and files a lawsuit making such claims can also sue that employer for emotional distress.
How much can you sue for emotional distress?
Compensatory damages related to an emotional distress claim can include financial compensation for counseling, treatment, and prescription medications. Sometimes, emotional distress damages make up the bulk of a verdict or settlement in successful workplace lawsuits.
Most employment-related lawsuits in California resolve privately, outside the courtroom, and many victims of retaliation, wrongful termination, harassment, or discrimination don’t even need to appear in a courtroom.
How to Sue Your Employer: Contact an Experienced Orange County Employment Attorney
If you believe that you have grounds to file a lawsuit against your employer, let the trusted workplace lawsuit experts at the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates guide you during this difficult time. Our expert staff will evaluate your case, help you determine if you have grounds for a lawsuit, and help you fight for the compensation you deserve. With multiple offices located in Irvine, Anaheim, Los Angeles, El Segundo, Riverside and San Diego, our labor law attorneys represent mistreated employees across Southern California. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with an experienced Orange County employment lawyer, please call 949-727-9300.
