What You Need to Know About Employer Retaliation After Resignation
California law states employers maintain the right to decide what work employees will do. Further, employers hold the right to fire employees even without a legitimate reason so long as the reason provided does not violate certain laws. Here’s everything you need to know about employer retaliation after resignation in California.
Constructive termination deals with employers deliberately creating or allowing workplace conditions to be so intolerable that employees are left with no choice but to resign. In California, constructive termination is grounds for an employee to sue their former employer.
What is employer retaliation in California?
In California, employment is typically “at-will”. Thus, employers have the right to fire employees at any point, even if they have no legitimate reason to do so. Further, at-will employment allows employers to have full authority over what specific work employees do, how they will complete their work, and what benefits they can receive from the job. That being said, there are features of employment that are regulated by the law. Specifically, employers do not hold the right to fire employees for reasons that breach an employment contract or go against provisions of California labor laws.
In California, workplace retaliation refers to employers making employees suffer a negative employment action for taking part in a protected activity. Negative employment actions can take several forms, including full termination from employment. If this were to happen, the employee may have grounds to sue for wrongful termination. Workplace retaliation could also involve an employer setting up an intolerable workplace environment, giving the employee no choice but to resign. If this were to happen, the employee may have grounds to sue for constructive termination. Negative employment treatment can also take the form of:
- Employees being denied earned job benefits
- Employees’ workloads increasing unfairly
- Employees receiving unjust negative performance reviews
- Employees being denied deserved promotions or raises
- Employees being transferred to less desirable tasks or work shifts
- Employees being denied access or opportunities useful for career advancement
Employees must experience negative employment treatment because of their engagement in a protected activity for the case to be considered workplace retaliation.
What is constructive termination in California?
In California, constructive termination (aka constructive discharge) refers to employers intentionally creating or allowing workplace conditions to be so intolerable that employees are left with no choice but to resign. California wrongful constructive termination cases are based on any exceptions to at-will employment. An example of a wrongful constructive termination case could include a server at a restaurant reporting health violations to the Department of Public Health, and as a consequence, the server’s supervisor gives him or her fewer hours until the server is basically not working.
How can someone successfully sue an employer for wrongful constructive termination in California?
In order to successfully sue an employer for wrongful constructive termination in California, an employee must demonstrate they had intolerable working conditions and underwent “wrongful” constructive discharge. In California, the most common types of wrongful termination include:
- Wrongful termination due to whistleblowing
- Wrongful termination that violates an implied contract of employment
- Wrongful termination in a public policy violation
- Wrongful termination as a consequence of exercising rights granted by the Fair Employment and Housing Act rights
Related: How to Report Retaliation in the Workplace
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