Orange County Employment Lawyer Blog

Almost all California employees are "at will" employees, meaning they can be terminated for any reason, so long as it is not an unlawful reason. So, if most employees are at will employees, what separates a termination from a wrongful termination?

California employees can essentially be terminated for any reason, so long as the reason is not an unlawful reason. Here are some of the more common unlawful reasons that would make a termination a wrongful termination:

1. An employee may not be terminated for lawfully reporting sexual harassment to a supervisor or to Human Resources;
2. Similar to above, an employee cannot be terminated for participating in an investigation of someone else's claims of sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination;
3. For exposing certain unlawful wrongdoings by the company or by a higher ranking employee of the company, commonly known as whistle-blowing;
4. For submitting a worker's compensation claim from injuries suffered at work;
5. For complaining to management or Human Resources about not receiving proper wages, overtime compensation, lunch breaks or rest breaks;
6. For filing a complaint with a governmental or administrative agency such as the DFEH or the Labor Board; and
7. Lastly, an employee is not at will if that employee has an employment contract designating a specific period of time.

In one of the largest single employee verdicts in United States history, the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, entered judgment of approximately $8.4 million in favor of Joovy, LLC, against Baby Trend, Inc., and its founder Denny Tsai. The judgment in favor of Robert Gardner, founder and CEO of Joovy, for claims of wrongful termination, failure to reimburse, breach of contract, and fraud was in the amount of $6,909,991 jointly against Baby Trend and Denny Tsai, and for an additional $1,495,917 against just Baby Trend.

"Wrongful termination" is one of the most mis-used and mis-understood terms in California employment law. Many clients who have called my Orange County Law Firm have been terminated from employment feel they have been wrongfully terminated. However, what these people typically fail to realize is that California is an "at will" state. "At will" means that you can be terminated with or without cause, with or without any prior notice. Similarly, the employee may also resign from their employment with or without cause or without giving any prior notice. Simply put, you can be terminated for any reason, so long as it is not an unlawful reason (race, gender, or legally protected conduct, etc.).

Some forms of "legally protected conduct" include reporting sexual harassment, reporting or complaining about not receiving overtime, meal breaks, or proper wages. If you are terminated for reporting or complaining about any of these legally protected issues, you then have a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy.

Case information for Gardner vs. Baby Trend, Case No. 05CC11681

A recent Orange County case on appeal in the Fourth District (Scotch v. Art Institute of California-Orange County, Inc.) affirmed summary judgment (a motion to have the entire case dismissed before trial) for the Defendant was proper because the Plaintiff did not identify a reasonable accommodation that was available at the time the interactive process (meeting between the employer and the employee) occurred.

FEHA protects individuals with "disabilities." "Physical disability" has been defined to include cosmetic disfigurement and physiological and anatomical conditions that affect one or more of the body systems, such as the musculoskeletal and neurological systems, and that limit an individual's ability to participate in a major life activity. Employers may not bar or discharge from employment an employee based upon his/her's disability, or otherwise discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION / INTERACTIVE PROCESS

The law imposes an affirmative obligation on both parties to engage in the "interactive process" to determine whether reasonable accommodations are possible. A lot of litigation concerns whether an employer engaged in good faith discussions with the employee concerning the availability of reasonable accommodations, including alternative positions. Failure to engage in the good faith "interactive process" by either an employer or employee can be determinative on the validity of certain disability discrimination claims. The accommodation process is a dynamic one with many considerations to be evaluated. The FEHA requires employers to make reasonable accommodation for the known disabilities (mental or physical) of employees to enable them to perform a position's essential functions, unless doing so would produce undue hardship on the employer's operations or would create a danger or threat of safety to the disabled employee or others. Some possible reasonable accommodations that may be considered include, but are not limited to:

• Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities;
• Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities; or
• Providing a finite leave of absence for a disabled employee to recuperate or care for his or her disability.

However, as Scotch v. Art Institute of California-Orange County, Inc., demonstrates, claims by an employee against an employer for failing to engage in the interactive process must identify a reasonable accommodation that was available at the time the interactive process should have occurred. The court recognized that during the interactive process itself, an employee may not have the same access to information about possible accommodations as the employer. However, the court states that through litigation, particularly discovery, the employee must be able to identify a reasonable accommodation that would have been available during the interactive process.

RELATED RESOURCES

California Employment Lawyers Assocation (CELA)
Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)