Many individuals believe that Los Angeles’s “at-will” employment legislation gives employers complete discretion over when and why to fire any employee. Although businesses typically have a relatively flexible recruiting and firing process, they are not permitted to fire a worker for grounds that would be against the law, such as the person’s race or religion. If you believe your termination was unfair, the law office of Omid Nosrati can help you determine your best legal options.
Civil Lawsuits
Civil actions are filed in instances of wrongful termination. In a civil unfair dismissal case, you petition the court to compel the defendant, your former employer, to pay money to make up for the losses you suffered as a result of the termination. Damages are the name given to this payment. However, you can’t just walk into court and demand “one million bucks”. You have to establish the sum of the different losses you incurred during the course of the case.
The key components of financial damages you could win in an unfair dismissal lawsuit are listed below:
Lost Income and Benefits
The amount of any incentives are added to the back salary you could have reasonably expected to receive had you not been unlawfully terminated to determine your compensatory damages. This includes unused vacation time and healthcare benefits. However, the pay and conditions that you really made or could have made from reasonably similar employment will be deducted from this amount of outstanding wages.
Emotional Anxiety
You can urge the jury to grant emotional distress compensation in some unfair dismissal situations at trial. However, jurors often only award emotional harm damages where the employer acted heinously and the employee experienced harm that a mental health expert can support.
Frequently, the jury decides how much to give for emotional anguish. Because of this, it is challenging for an attorney to determine how much compensation you might get for this aspect of your case.
Retaliatory Damages
Punitive damages are the amount the employer is required to pay for extremely heinous behaviour. Punitive damages, as opposed to other types of damages, which aim to compensate for your losses, seek to penalize the employer and discourage potential instances of the same conduct. Punitive damages are typically impossible to define in advance and difficult to obtain even when available. You might need to meet a higher standard of proof to obtain punitive damages at trial. And even if these losses are available and you’ve met the burden of evidence, the jury will decide how much should be awarded in damages.
Relief From Injunctions and Declarations
Depending on the legal foundation for your claim of illegal discharge, you may seek different types of damages. Depending on the kind of lawsuit, the typical settlement varies. For instance, lost earnings and benefits are typically the only forms of compensation for wrongful termination in violation of an informal agreement. But there is also a risk of emotional distress from unlawful discharge in breach of public policy. Settlements reached outside of court could be less than what a juror might award should the matter go to trial. However, because they are speedier and simpler, plaintiffs frequently choose settlements.
Practical Points to Consider
Anyone thinking of suing must conduct a cost/benefit analysis. Even if you have unbeatable legal claims, a lawsuit might not be necessary if your losses are negligible. Lawsuits are exceedingly hazardous, costly, time-consuming, and emotionally taxing. A lawyer might advise against filing a case if you haven’t actually experienced significant losses due to being fired for the simple reason that whatever you “get” in trial won’t be worth the cash it would take to obtain it.
Leave a Reply