Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Termination Rights
A coworker of mine was recently laid off due to ''downsizing''. Two weeks prior to her termination, her supervisor hired someone and had them sit in a cubicle in another department. The day after my coworker was laid off, the new hire ''relocated'' and is now working at her desk. Bascially, this person has taken over her job. Is this legal?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Termination Rights
Possibly. It depends on whether the coworker had a contractual right to continued employment or whether the real reason for the layoff was legal. Often, employers lie about the reason they are terminating the employee, but this is not grounds for a lawsuit unless a contract is broken or the real reason is illegal.
Re: Termination Rights
When an employer engages in this kind of conduct, using a false reason to get rid of someone, it may mean that there is a cover up of the real reason. For example, if your co-worker is an older worker who was replaced by a younger lower paid employee, that may be age discrimination. Of course, if the termination was because of poor performance, and the employer didn't want to use that reason to spare hurt feelings, it is not an illegal layoff.
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