What to do if you were fired

TERMINATIONS can be difficult situations, particularly where employees see the firing as unfair. Knowing one’s rights upon the end of an employment relationship may help employees weather this challenging time.  The following provides some helpful guidelines:
First: Make sure that the employment relationship has ended and there is no misunderstanding about this. Employment can end by resignation or lay-offs. An employee can also be “discharged.”  “Discharge” includes involuntary termination. It also includes release of an employee upon completing a specific job assignment or when the time duration for which the employee was hired is ended.
Second: Consider any payment that might be due to you upon termination. Your employer may owe you unpaid wages for the days you have worked prior to your discharge. Has your employer paid you for all work performed beyond 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week? Have you been paid for work done during missed lunch or rest breaks? If you were eligible for vacation, you may also be owed payment for unused vacation time. (Note: “Use it or lose it” vacation pay policies are illegal.)
Third: If any payment is due, your employer must immediately pay all compensation due to you.  The employer should pay you “at the place of discharge.” The employer has the obligation to make sure that you receive your payment. If the employer tells you that they will mail the check, you must consent to such an arrangement.
Employers are prohibited from requiring employees to sign a release of the employee’s right to any wages due, unless those wages have been paid. Some employers hold their employee’s final paycheck “hostage” until the employee signs a release or other document. This conduct is prohibited by law. It is also illegal for an employer to require the discharged employee, as a condition of being paid, to execute a false statement of their hours worked.
If an employer willfully fails to pay all wages due to an employee after termination, the employee’s wages continue as a penalty until paid, for up to 30 calendar days. This is called “waiting time penalties.” Hence, if the employee is regularly paid $120 per day, the employer may be held liable to pay up to $3,600 in penalty for not paying the terminated employee on time.
Severance Pay – California law does not require that an employer provide severance pay to an employee. But where an employment agreement provides for unconditional severance pay, such payments are arguably “wages” and hence must be paid immediately on discharge or within 72 hours after resignation.
Finally, consider the circumstances of the termination. Even though employment relationships are generally at-will, an employer may not fire an employee for a discriminatory or retaliatory reason. Discrimination based on age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, and even union affiliation are illegal. It is also illegal to fire an employee in retaliation for the employee’s exercise of a right or refusal to violate the law.
An employer who recognizes that an employee may have potential claims for additional wages, discrimination, or harassment may offer the employee additional money in exchange for signing a release. In this instance, the employee is well advised to consult with a knowledgeable employment attorney before signing the release or any document in order to protect his or her rights.

***

The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost.  Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit  www.joesayaslaw.com. 

***

C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.