Short answer: An employer can’t automatically fire you for taking medical leave, but the protections aren’t always as clear as they seem. Medical leave is different from FMLA or CFRA leave, and it can cover far more conditions than most people realize, from migraines to cancer to anxiety and depression. Employers can’t force you to…
Short answer: Yes. A severance agreement isn’t automatically the final offer. Employers often present it as a take it or leave it number, and many employees sign without realizing they have room to ask for more. You can negotiate the total amount, the length of health insurance coverage, and other terms, especially if your years…
Short answer: Wage theft often looks like normal, everyday work rather than something obviously illegal. It shows up when you’re required to be on site before your shift officially starts, when you don’t get paid the premium owed for missed meal or rest breaks, when overtime goes unpaid, or when an employer rounds or changes…
Short answer: Retaliation rarely starts with a termination. It usually starts small: an employee gets treated differently, they’re written up for something other employees do without consequence, their hours or job duties slowly disappear after they make a complaint. The single most important step an employee can take is documenting everything in writing, from write-ups…
Short answer: Workplace harassment doesn’t always look obvious. Regular jokes, exclusion, and isolation can create a hostile work environment, especially when they target someone because of a protected characteristic like race, age, medical condition, or national origin. Many employees brush this off at first, but if the behavior continues, documenting everything in writing, reporting to HR, and…
The short answer: Retaliation cases get built on documentation, timing, and pattern. If you reported something you reasonably believed was illegal and your employer’s treatment of you changed shortly after, start writing everything down now. California law gives you a presumption of retaliation when a negative employment action follows a protected complaint within 90 days,…
The short answer: Wrongful termination in California happens when your firing violates public policy, meaning it was driven by discrimination, retaliation, or another reason that breaks the law. Feeling like your firing was unfair isn’t the same thing as it being illegal. The difference comes down to what your employer actually did and why. If…
Pregnancy discrimination happens when an employer terminates, demotes, or otherwise targets an employee because she discloses her pregnancy or her need for maternity leave. To prove a case, you’ll need to show a connection between that disclosure and the negative treatment that followed. The strongest evidence includes doctor’s notes, communications with HR or management, performance…
Harassment becomes unlawful when it’s tied to a protected characteristic, like your race, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, medical condition, or disability. This kind of harassment also has to be severe, or happen often enough, to affect your ability to do your job. A single serious incident can be enough on its own, and a pattern…
The short answer: If you reported something illegal at work and nothing changed, you may still have legal options. The fact that your employer didn’t act doesn’t mean you’re out of options, and speaking up may actually protect you under anti-retaliation laws. You did something that most people are too scared to do. You saw…