wrongful termination

Casey v. Dep’t of Defense: Wrongful Termination

December 8, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Casey v. Dep’t of Defense, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, involved an employee filing what is known as a Bivens action. This term comes from the 1971 cased entitled Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents. In its holding, the United Stated Supreme Court ultimately ruled that there is an implied cause of action for persons whose Forth Amendment rights have been violated. Bivens was later expended through subsequent case holdings to incorporate more rights as outlined in the Bill of Rights.

In Casey, plaintiff was a contractor working for an agency under the United States Department of Defense. She was working in the capacity of a civil contractor and was not an employee on the Government Schedule (GS) or a member of the United States Military. Specifically, she was a nurse coordinator with the Civilian Health Promotion Services Program at an Air Force base in Massachusetts. Continue Reading ›

Should Intoxicated USC Coach Get FMLA Leave Instead of Getting Fired?

October 28, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Recently, the football coach for University of Southern California allegedly showed up to a team meeting while he was under the influence of alcohol. ESPN reported this was not the first time the second-year coach was suspected to be impaired at work. He reportedly was intoxicated at a Salute to Troy function in August, which he apologized for after his behavior made national headlines. He was also suspected to be under the influence at a game against Arizona State in September.

The coach was not permitted to attend the practice after the meeting in which he showed up appearing intoxicated. He announced an indefinite leave of absence, but he was subsequently fired one day after announcing his leave. USC said his employment was terminated after considering the team’s best interests.

While employers can, and likely should, terminate workers who come impaired to the workplace, employers must also tread carefully in these situations because there are rules in place to protect people undergoing treatment. A Southern California FMLA attorney knows employers must ensure they are in full compliance with employee protection laws when terminating workers with substance abuse problems.

NLRB Decision on Facebook Behavior as Protected Concerted Activity Upheld

October 24, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Facebook has created myriad problems for employer/employee relationships and a Los Angeles wrongful termination attorney knows that numerous cases have addressed whether employees can be fired for Facebook conduct.

One recent case was decided by the National Labor Relations Board in the employee’s favor, but the decision was appealed. Now, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld the NLRB’s ruling. This decisions demonstrates that many different behaviors on social media can fall under the purview of protected concerted activity.

Facebook Behavior Considered Protected Concerted Activity

Burton v. Freescale – Retaliation for Workers’ Compensation Claims

August 8, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Employees who file workers’ compensation claims may run the risk of possible retaliation by employers who want to avoid paying the associated costs. The majority of states have laws that prohibit companies from lashing out against workers who have filed workers’ compensation claims.

Workers seeking to prove retaliation have to show:

He or she was an employee entitled to receive benefits under California’s workers’ compensation law;
He or she took some protected action (i.e., filing a workers’ compensation claim)
He or she suffered an adverse employment action (i.e., termination, denial of promotion, etc.)
The employer was motivated to carry out this adverse action by employee engaging in protected activity.

It’s not an easy threshold to meet, and that’s why having an experienced employment lawyer on your side can be critical. Continue Reading ›

Rock v. Levinski – First Amendment Rights of Employees

July 28, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

One of the most dearly held rights Americans have is stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: The right of free speech.

It allows us to speak our minds without fear of government infringement.

But that’s just the thing: It pertains to government infringement, not infringement by private companies. And what’s more, if the government is the employer, the worker may be limited in what he or she can say without facing termination as well.

The circumstances under which speech may be protected will be based on the kind and purpose of the speech. So for example, if a worker for an airline speaks out about a major safety concern that’s been ignored by company officials, that could be considered protected speech because it is carried out in the interest of public safety. That worker may even have whistleblower protection. However, if that same worker puts the airline CEO on blast on the worker’s social media page, that might not be protected, and the company could have the right to take adverse employment action. Continue Reading ›

Changes to Discipline Reporting Requirements in CA

July 5, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Getting fired from a job is never a good thing. Not only are you out of a job, but you now also may have trouble getting a job in the future, because many job applications ask if you have ever been terminated from any employment position in the past. Even if you were not terminated but subject to formal discipline at your past job, you may have to report that on a new application.

According to a recent news article form the Sacramento Bee, those applying for state jobs in California may no longer have to report past discipline on job applications and would be eligible to reapply for other state positions without disclosing past discipline, under a proposed piece of legislation. The new bill is entitled Assembly bill AB 466 and is currently being pushed forward with support of various public employee unions. The bill would allow state employees who are fired from their jobs and had agreed to never seek employment with a particular agency to apply for state employment in the future and not have to disclose the disciplinary settlement on the application. Continue Reading ›

California Farmworkers’ Union Brings Fight to DC

May 23, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

California has a very diverse economy, and this is one of the reasons it is such a great place to live. In terms of jobs, there are a variety of different sectors and opportunities not available to residents of other states. Not only do we have the world’s leading computer design and software industry located in Silicon Valley, but we have large amounts of farmland on which a large portion of our nation’s food supply is produced each year.

With all of these farms and agricultural industries within our state’s borders, there are a lot of jobs available for farmworkers. However, in addition to great opportunity for farmworkers, we also see many farmworkers being taken advantage of by employers who care more about making money than they do about farmworker safety, health, and quality of life.

According to a recent news article from The Daily Caller, a decent sized crowd of California farm worker union supporters showed in Washington, DC to protest what is happening in relation to a California farmworker labor dispute. Continue Reading ›

Medical Marijuana Legalization Creates Employment Issues

May 16, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Cities and states across the country have legalized marijuana, decriminalized simple possession, or legalized the use of medical marijuana, as is the case in the state of California. However, one question that tends to arise is if marijuana is legal to use, can an employer fire an employee for legally using marijuana? Unfortunately, in many cases, it appears the answer to this question is yes.

According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, a woman whose employer fired her for using marijuana is now suing her previous employer for wrongful termination.

The woman interviewed as part of this story was elated when she was hired at what was going to be her dream job with a marketing agency. Her elation quickly turned to anger and despair when she was fired her first day on the job because she had failed a pre-employment drug trust. She was told she failed the drug test because she had tested positive for marijuana. At first, she was more confused than angry, because medical marijuana is now legal in Massachusetts and is, therefore, not an illegal substance. She had also disclosed her use of medical marijuana during a job interview. She told her prospective employer she takes marijuana as treatment for a digestive disorder, and this treatment is legal and approved by her doctor. Continue Reading ›

Former Coach Gets $5 Million in California Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

April 11, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

A former high school football coach in Southern California who was wrongly terminated for blowing the whistle on a sexual hazing scandal at a Catholic school will receive nearly $5 million in damages.

Jurors decided with the coach in his lawsuit and awarded him $900,000 in compensatory damages, and gave authorization for punitive damages. Jurors were set to debate how much those damages should be when the diocese offered $4 million to settle those claims.

The coach alleged he was wrongfully fired, retaliated against and then defamed after he reported hazing at the high school in December 2012.

Spratt v. DirecTV – Cable Company Accused of Wage-and-Hour Abuses

March 31, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

A California lawsuit accuses a large cable company of forcing hourly workers in California to toil through designated brake times, among other wage-and-hour violations, according to the latest lawsuit filed against the firm.

In Spratt v. DirecTV Enterprises LLC, filed within the Los Angeles Superior Court, a former maintenance worker alleges the company improperly imposed an “alternative” work week schedule that consisted of four, 10-hour days. It also allegedly failed to pay overtime and other required pay to more than 100 workers employed with the firm in California, starting in early 2011.

Plaintiff worked for more than a decade, starting in 2002.