If you’re an employee in the state of California, you’re protected by a number of laws that ensure your rights are respected in the workplace. However, if your employer isn’t following these laws, you may need to seek legal assistance to get the situation resolved. An experienced Fontana employment lawyer can help you understand your rights and options under the law, and can represent you in court if necessary.
California laws provide broad protection to workers to prohibit illegal conduct and encourage reporting of this conduct. If you work in a place where you are being targeted because you reported illegal conduct, you may have a right to compensation. Employment attorney, Mohamed Eldessouky, helps workers throughout California, including Fontana, CA, enforce their workplace rights. Mr Eldessouky is a skilled trial attorney with experience litigating common workplace violations employees in Fontana face.
California law is specific in how it protects workers against the harm of unsafe or unfair workplace conditions. Our Fontana employment law firm helps workers understand the dangers of a hostile work environment and how wage and hour violations occur. If you are facing retaliation, discrimination or wrongful termination at work, Eldessouky Law can help. Speak to our Fontana whistleblower claims attorney for a proper understanding of your rights and how to proceed against your employer.
If you have questions about your rights as an employee in California or wish to discuss your case confidentially with one of our experienced California employment attorneys, contact our office at 714-409-8991 or fill out one of our contact forms online.
Whistleblower Claims in CA
One of the reasons for the broad protections California law affords workers is to encourage the reporting of unlawful conduct at work. If your employer has breached the law in any way, you are protected if you raise the alarm or report the unlawful conduct. The whistleblower protection statute under the Labor Code prohibits retaliation against employees for reporting unlawful conduct. Lab. Code, § 1102.5(b), (c), (h).
Sadly, many employers still target workers in CA for carrying out their civic duty and blowing the lid on illegality at work. Many of these employers retaliate in several ways, including by giving out consistently poor and unjustified performance reviews. Some turn to harassing the employees or even terminating their employment.
California laws are specific on how they protect workers in whistleblower claims. If you reported on illegal conduct at work, you are protected from retaliation by your employer. Workers who suffer retaliation can file a lawsuit against their employer to recover compensation and reinstatement, in deserving cases. However, filing these claims can often be tricky since your employer will take steps to hide their illegal actions. A Fontana, CA whistleblower claims attorney can help you understand how to proceed.
3 Steps to Take if You Suspect Illegal Activity at Work
If you suspect there is illegal activity going on at your workplace, follow these steps so you are in the best position possible:
- Document the activity: This is a good first step to take when you intend to do something about illegal conduct at work. Keep in mind that there is no requirement for you to document the activity before reporting to the authorities. But doing this will give you something to hold unto if you are retaliated against before you are able to report.
- Request clarification: Sometimes, the situation may seem suspicious but have a perfectly good explanation. In such instances, you should seek clarification from your employer before taking further action.
- Report the conduct: Once you are certain that no good explanation occurs for the activity, report the conduct. Your report may either be to one of the regulators in your industry or, if you are not certain of the regulator, to law enforcement generally.
If you are unsure how to proceed after discovering illegal activity at work, you should contact an experienced attorney for help. They will help you understand what you witnessed and the next steps you should take.
Fontana Wrongful Termination Attorney
Eldessouky Law successfully represents employees who suffer violations to their employment rights at work. All California employees are entitled to the expectation of a safe and fair work environment.
Employees are especially protected when they report illegal conduct at work, such as making false claims or receiving or giving illegal kickbacks. If an employer retaliates for reporting such unlawful conduct, you have a right to sue, just like this former Chief Financial Officer in Fontana who sued after retaliation for whistleblowing.
Top Employers in Fontana, CA
With a population well over 200,000, Fontana, CA is the second largest city in San Bernardino County. The city, which is also the 19th largest in California, is considered the regional hub of the trucking industry in California.
Some of the largest employer in Fontana, CA include:
- Kaiser Permanente: 5,300 employees
- Fontana Unified School District: 3,939 employees
- City of Fontana: 1,883 employees
- Target: 1,393 employees
- Manheim Auctions: 700 employees
- Better Beverages: 500 employees
- American Security Products: 450 employees
- Coronado Stone Products: 400 employees
- Firth Rixson: 380 employees
- Reddaway: 350 employees
At Eldessouky Law, we have represented individuals employed at Fortune 500 companies and small business in CA. It does not matter how large your employer is, they are still obligated to respect workplace rights. If you have been mistreated at work, talk to our Fontana employment law attorney.
Areas of Law we Help Employees in Fontana
Our Fontana employment law attorney works tirelessly to ensure residents in this city receive fair treatment in the workplace.
Our core employment law practice areas include:
- Hostile work environment claims, including:
- Discrimination
- Sexual Harassment
- Wage and hour claims, including:
- Underpaid regular pay rates
- Unpaid rest or break times
- Overtime payment discrepancies
- Severance terms, agreements, and enforcement procedures
- Retaliation claims
- Wrongful termination
- Disability Discrimination
The size, composition or industry of the company you work for does not change their duty to respect your rights. Contact our Fontana whistleblower and wrongful termination attorney immediately if you are being subjected to unlawful conduct.
How Am I Protected in Whistleblower Claims in CA?
The purpose of California’s whistleblower protect statute is to ensure that illegal activity does not go unreported. The Labor Code protects employees who engage in protected activity in relation to activity at work that violated federal, state or local laws.
It does not matter that your job duties include disclosing such unlawful activity to public agencies. If you have blown the lid on illegal activity at work, you are entitled to protection if you are retaliated against by an employer. California Jury Instructions CACI 4603.
The whistleblower protections laws apply in several instances where you stand against illegal activity at work including:
- Reporting violations of federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations to a public agency with power to investigate
- Reporting such violations to another employee with the power to investigate
- Providing information to or testifying before a public body that was investigating illegal activity at your workplace
- Refusing to participate in unlawful activity at work, such falsifying records or wrongly claiming tax deductions
Employees who engage in protected conduct, including any of these acts are protected against adverse employment action. This includes termination, demotion, denial of benefits, denial of career advancement options etc.
You may be able to file a wrongful termination or retaliation action under the whistleblower protection statute.
Must I Be the Only One to Have Reported the Illegal Activity?
It does not matter that someone else had reported the illegal activity before you. Requiring that an employee should have been the first person to report the conduct before being protected is sometimes referred to as the “first report” rule. But the courts have rejected such as strict interpretation of the whistleblower protection laws. Hager v. County of Los Angeles (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 1538, 1548−1553 [176 Cal.Rptr.3d 268].
As a result, it does not matter that you were not the first to report. This may especially be the case where the conduct still continued after the first report or if nothing was done about it.
However, the information you report must not be publicly known at the time of reporting. This means if the conduct was already known by the public agency with the power to investigate, the whistleblower protection statute may not apply to protect you.
But you may be able to file other employee protection claims such as retaliation or wrongful termination. Speak to an experienced Fontana wrongful termination attorney to understand your options.
Contact Eldessouky Law Today
If you suspect that you are being retaliated against for reporting unlawful conduct at work, contact Eldessouky Law immediately. Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation by calling our Fontana retaliation attorney at 714-409-8991 today.
