Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Do I have a case of being wrongfully terminated?

It is a german based company. The team has 10 members in germany. They hired me and another guy in Sept 08 to join the team remotely from their Milpitas, CA. site. The reason of hiring us was that they couln't find anyone w/ the same skill level in germany. I was informed that there're lots of works lining up for us to do. Back in Calif., we were also informed that the company is doing really well, no sign of recession. In fact, they have plan of hiring 15 more engineers in Qtr1 '09.

In mid Feb, my teammate requested to have Apr off to get married. End of Feb., I requested to take 4.5 months off for maternity leave. The mgr didn't reply to my maternity leave req. And bam, mid March they let both of us go w/o warning.. Their reason is cost of 2 in US is enough to hire 5 in germany. Do I have a case here? please advice


Asked on 3/20/09, 4:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Do I have a case of being wrongfully terminated?

If and when you are denied legally protected leave, or are illegally discriminated or retaliated against, then you can consider legal claims.

If your CA employer has at least 5 employees, they can not fire you because you are pregnant, must allow you to continue working as long as you are able, must 'reasonably' accommodate your disability, and must allow up to 4 months of unpaid pregnancy leave under FEHA.

If your CA employer has at least 50 employees, and you are employed for at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months prior to the leave, then you would be eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA/CFRA maternity/medical leave, continuation of group health benefits, restoration to the same or an equivalent job upon return to work, with accrued benefits.

If you qualify for both, you get both. If you are out longer than those guarantees, they can fire you.

Upon termination from employment, you are entitled to COBRA conversion of your medical benefits [if any], allowing you to pay for and retain your insurance coverage.

Now, if they violate those rules, contact me for the legal help you'll need.

In your case, if you were the only local employees, meaning less than 5 in the local company, you probably don't qualify for protection. You can try to file a discrimination complaint with Dept of Fair Employment and Housing. If they say there is a violation and take your claim, then I'll be happy to help you pursue it.

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Answered on 3/23/09, 4:22 pm


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