Irvine Employment Attorney

Employees in all industries have various rights protected at the federal level and the state level. California enforces some of the most robust state-level protections for employees pertaining to their rights in the workplace and their rights in regard to their relationships with their employers. Unfortunately, many people working in various industries encounter legal problems with their employees. Some are unfairly discriminated against due to their personal traits, while others receive unjust mistreatment for other reasons. Some are denied basic rights, such as the ability to address their medical conditions without fear of losing their jobs.

The employment laws of California and those of the U.S. at the federal level can be difficult to navigate, and these statutes often appear to lean in favor of employers. For example, California is one of many U.S. states to uphold an “at will” employment law, meaning there are no strict requirements for an employer or an employee to end a work relationship. However, some employees illegally use this law as an excuse to cover illegal wrongful terminations.

This is just one example of the types of employment disputes California workers encounter across all industries. If you work in Irvine, CA and believe your employer has mistreated you, discriminated against you, and/or denied you pay and benefits to which you are legally entitled, you could have grounds for a civil action that can hold them accountable.

Any employment dispute can be daunting for the employee, especially if their employer is a large company with a robust in-house legal team. Even if fault and wrongdoing are clear in your case, the reality is that navigating any type of employment dispute as a plaintiff without legal representation is very risky, and you could face challenges you may not have initially anticipated. You would need to meet very strict legal requirements while also managing your personal and professional obligations.

Additionally, there are special rules you must follow for many employment claims. While many such claims are roughly equivalent to personal injury actions, seeking compensation for damages inflicted by the other party, employment disputes are beholden to specific statutes that you must acknowledge to succeed with your claim. For example, you may need to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before proceeding with a civil action if your case pertains to harassment or discrimination.

Hiring legal counsel you can trust adds tremendous strength to any employment claim. When you choose California Employment Counsel, APC to represent you in a case against an employer, you can rely on our years of experience and extensive professional resources to help guide you to success with your civil action.

If your employment dispute pertains to sexual harassment in the workplace or discrimination of any kind, you must file a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC) before pursuing legal action against your employer. The EEOC is the government agency responsible for investigating harassment and discrimination claims in U.S. workplaces, and they must approve your claim for you to proceed with a civil action. Your Irvine employment attorney can assist you with the claim process, helping you obtain any supporting information you will need to prove. The EEOC typically responds to most harassment and discrimination claims within 180 days of filing.

If the EEOC approves your claim, they may initiate legal action against your employer for violating U.S. employment laws. They will also grant the claimant a Notice of Right to Sue that enables them to proceed with their civil lawsuit against their employer. Success with your EEOC claim is more likely when you have an experienced Irvine employment attorney handling your complaint.

When you need to take legal action against an employer, it’s vital to find an attorney with specific experience handling cases like yours. The attorneys of California Employment Counsel, PC have years of experience representing clients in difficult employment disputes of all kinds, including:

• Sexual harassment claims. No one should have to face mistreatment in their workplace on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or related factors. We can help you file an EEOC claim that may help you recover your losses and also help prevent others from facing similar mistreatment in the future.
• Discrimination claims. If you believe you have been victimized by discrimination on the basis of your race, religion, ethnicity, sex, marital status, medical status, or any other personal trait, you likely have grounds to file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC.
• Hostile work environment claims. A “hostile work environment” is any workplace in which an employee cannot perform their work duties due to persistent mistreatment from coworkers and/or supervisors. Many hostile work environment claims fall within the purview of illegal harassment.
• Wrongful termination. The at-will employment law of California may provide employers with broad flexibility to fire employees as they see fit, but employers may not base firing decisions on discriminatory reasons. If you believe your ex-employer had an illegal discriminatory reason for firing you, we can help you determine the best ways of holding them accountable for these illegal actions.
• Whistleblower protection. If you acted as a whistleblower in good faith for any reason, your employer is legally prohibited from firing you or taking other punitive action against you in response.
• Medical leave disputes. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and various other laws provide employees with job security when they must take medical leave to address health issues, including those of family members. Any employer who violates the FMLA or similar state-level laws could face civil actions from affected employees.

Our team will work closely with you through every stage of your case to ensure we address your individual needs and concerns. Our goal is to help you move through your case proceedings as swiftly as possible and to secure a settlement from the defendant that adequately compensates the damages you sustained because of their illegal behavior.

A successful civil claim against your employer could enable you to recover various economic damages. If you were denied pay, if your employer failed to pay you correctly, or if you were denied any benefits illegally, the defendant is responsible for compensating these losses. If you were compelled to look for new work, you can seek compensation for any costs associated with your job searches. You also have the right to hold your employer accountable for the costs associated with bringing your civil claim against them, potentially meaning that it will cost you nothing to hire your Irvine employment attorney.

Proving the true extent of your economic losses is much easier with an attorney’s help. For example, if you lost your job in wrongful termination, you could hold your former employer accountable for the income you lost since your firing. Some wrongfully terminated employees seek reinstatement to their previous positions, and others are not interested in returning to work for employers who mistreated them. It’s also possible for an employee to have grounds to seek compensation for damage to their professional reputation depending on the scope of the defendant’s actions.

The EEOC and California law acknowledge that the negative experiences employees face from discrimination at work are emotionally damaging as well as financially disruptive in several ways. Your successful claim could hold your employer accountable for the emotional distress you experienced from their actions. If your employer acted in any egregiously discriminatory capacity, they are likely to face statutory and/or punitive damages for the victim.

The right attorney can have a profound influence on the outcome of your employment case in Irvine. While it may be technically possible to have your EEOC claim approved and even succeed with your civil claim without legal counsel, doing so would be incredibly difficult, especially if you have minimal legal experience and are already struggling with the impact of your experience on your life. Working quickly to connect with an Irvine employment attorney you can trust can make a dramatic difference in the quality of your experience with the EEOC claim process and the final recovery you obtain.

When you choose California Employment Counsel, APC to handle your employment dispute in Irvine, we will work quickly to determine what type of evidence you will need to submit with your EEOC claim, explain the EEOC claim process to you, and help you understand what may happen after the EEOC receives your claim. Ultimately, every employment dispute filed in California is unique, and there is no single legal strategy that will work for every client. However, one constant in every case is the value of legal counsel.

If you believe you have grounds to file an EEOC complaint against an employer in the Irvine, CA area, you need an attorney who can guide you through this process successfully. California Employment Counsel, APC is ready to assist you with your case, so contact us today and schedule your consultation with an Irvine employment attorney.