Anyone doing online research will find an endless number of articles about wrongful termination claims in an “at will” employment jurisdiction like California. Typically, the facts that give rise to these lawsuits involve civil rights violations, sexual harassment, retaliation, or breach of employment contract.
What I often hear from prospective clients are statements like “…terminating my employment was absolutely unfair”, “…the way I was treated was unfair, and I can prove it…”, or “…I must have some legal right to expect some fairness and good faith from my employer…” Unfortunately, however, unfairness is not enough to bring a wrongful termination claim. An employee has to prove that the employer acted in a way that was not just unfair, but illegal.
When Lack of Fairness Might be a Legal Claim
Here are a couple of situations in which unfairness might add up to a legal claim for wrongful termination.
California courts recognize a claim called "breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing" as a wrongful termination cause of action. For example, one court cited a hypothetical situation in which an employee was promised a commission so many days after making a sale, but terminated immediately before the day the commission was due to paid. The court suggested that terminating the employment relationship in this situation, just to avoid paying the commission, might violate the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. So, California recognizes there is an implicit agreement in employment relationships that both sides will treat the other fairly, at least to some degree.
Another example is the California Business & Professions Code, which prohibits employers from engaging in unfair business practices. This legal claim arises in many different scenarios. For example, an employer’s scheme of hiring employees as independent contractors to avoid paying payroll taxes, workers’ compensation premiums, and unemployment insurance benefits is an unfair business practice. Employers can be held liable for engaging in employment schemes like these that are unfair and give them advantages over their competitors.
Generally speaking, however, simple unfairness isn't enough to win an employment lawsuit, unless the employer acted illegaly by discriminating or harassing the employee, firing the employee in retaliation for complaining about health and safety issues or other legal violations, firing the employee for reasons that violate public policy, or firing the employee in breach of an employment contract.
Is the Expectation of Fairness an Illusion?
Experienced employment attorneys fight for fairness and employee rights utilizing a variety of legal claim strategies and demands. Unfortunately, a lawsuit entitled “Unfair Termination” will not go very far in the courts of the State of California. However, if that unfairness masks underlying illegal conduct, you may have a strong case. The best advice is to find an experienced employment attorney, who can explain your options and assess the strength of your claims.
From the author: SF Bay Area Employee-Side Attorney
