State and federal laws give you the right to be treated fairly in the workplace. When an employer violates any of your rights, you can take legal action. Depending on your situation, you may be able to obtain compensation for lost wages, lost pay in the future, and even emotional distress or punitive damages.
However, it’s important to understand what your rights are and how to build a strong claim when you are treated unfairly.
Yadegar, Minoofar & Soleymani, LLP can help. Our Los Angeles employment law attorneys have backgrounds in business law and a history of handling bet-the-company cases for Fortune 500 firms. Our team members have also earned the highest possible AV ranking from Martindale-Hubbell.
To learn more about how we can put our decades of experience to work on your claim, call or contact us online today to schedule a free consultation with a San Diego employment lawyer.
What are your rights as an employee in San Diego?
Many laws protect your rights in the workplace in San Diego and throughout the state of California.
These laws include the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) in California, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, among other federal laws.
Your rights under these laws include:
- Protection against discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, color, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, or other protected characteristics.
- Protection from a hostile work environment where you are treated inappropriately on the basis of your protected status.
- Reasonable accommodations for your disability and the ability to engage in an interactive process to determine what those accommodations will look like.
- Freedom from employment requirements that have a disparate impact on people in a protected class, such as pre-employment testing that disqualifies more women or minorities unless there is a bona fide job-related reason for the tests.
- Protection against retaliation for reporting wrongful behavior.
- Protection against sexual harassment, including quid pro quo harassment where a job benefit is conditioned upon submitting to sexual conduct, as well as the creation of a hostile work environment.
These are just some of the many protections in place to ensure that your employer does not treat you unfairly based on factors outside of your control.
How does a San Diego employment lawyer help you?
Enforcing your workplace rights can be challenging because you will need to decide how best to proceed with your case.
You may seek administrative remedies through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or through the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) so you’ll need to determine which approach is best and build your claim.
Yadegar, Minoofar & Soleymani, LLP will help you from day one by:
- Reviewing your situation carefully to determine if any worker protection laws were likely violated
- Helping you to gather evidence, such as employee handbooks, diaries about your experience, internal communications including Slack messages, texts, and emails, and expert testimony.
- Determining what legal processes are required or desired, such as administrative complaints or filing a civil lawsuit.
- Helping you to identify all defendants, which typically include the company you worked for, even if individual employees were the ones engaged in unlawful harassment.
- Negotiating a settlement when possible, which can allow you appropriate and fair compensation without you having to endure the stress of a full trial.
- Going to court when necessary, if no fair settlement offer is reached.
Not all employment law attorneys are prepared and ready to go to court. Many settle cases, but rarely go to trial. However, you need an attorney who won’t back down, which means you should work with a firm with skilled litigators and a history of courtroom success.
Yadegar, Minoofar & Soleymani, LLP has spent decades fighting for clients in the courtroom, so our team can maximize each client’s chances of getting the justice they deserve.
We make sure every case is trial-ready, which can increase your chances of settlement while also providing you with the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have an advocate who can go the distance if the company simply refuses to play fair.
What compensation can you get in an employment law claim?
If you can prove that your employer violated your rights, you should be entitled to compensation for both actual financial loss, as well as for non-economic damages you endured because of the company’s wrongdoing.
Some of the different kinds of compensation you may be entitled to include:
- Back pay: This is pay you would have earned, but didn’t, because of your employer’s unlawful behavior.
- Front pay: This is future lost earnings you may be entitled to when reinstatement isn’t appropriate or feasible, so you lose out on ongoing income.
- Reinstatement: If it is possible and practical, the court may order that the company allow you to come back to work.
- Emotional distress: Being treated wrongfully at work can cause you to experience substantial emotional damage, as threats to your job, harassment, and abusive behavior can take a severe psychological toll.
- Punitive damages: If your employer acted egregiously or you were subject to extreme malicious behavior, you may be entitled to obtain punitive damages.
- Attorney’s fees: If you successfully make a claim under certain worker protection laws, you may be entitled to recover attorney fees from the company that caused the damage.
In some cases, many different individuals are subject to the same type of wrongful actions in the workplace. When this happens, plaintiffs may form a class action to pursue a joint claim.
You should get legal advice to help you determine whether you’re likely to maximize your chances of a favorable verdict and fair compensation by joining a class or whether you should pursue an individual claim.
Contact Yadegar, Minoofar & Soleymani, LLP today
Yadegar, Minoofar & Soleymani, LLP does not charge legal fees unless we win your case. Our team has a proven track record of successfully fighting for those harmed by employers who break the law, and we are committed to providing compassionate, knowledgeable legal representation to every victimized worker.
To find out more about how a San Diego employment lawyer at our firm can fight for you, give us a call at (310) 499-0140 or contact us online today to schedule your free case evaluation. We’re here to help you hold your employer accountable, and we’ll go the distance to help you get justice.