Legal Question in Employment Law in California

You have no recourse for the insults and stress, unless you can get off work on a workers compensation stress claim.

You will have a tough time proving the employer caused the heart condition. If your doctor told you that you needed to stop working for a heart treatment and the employer refused to give you time off, however, there may be a medical leave act violation. Making you work outside the position or title's responsibilities, however, is within the employer's rights.

Not giving breaks is totally illegal. For that you should submit a claim with the Bureau of Labor Standards Enforcement at the state Dept. of Industrial Relations. They are easy to find on the web.

Mr. McCormick may be correct that there is no recourse for the insults and stress. However, if your employer yelled at you and treated you differently than other employees because of your race, age, gender, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or other protected category, then you may have a claim for discrimination.

Moreover, if you requested time off, or if your doctor told you to take time off work, because of the stress and your employer refused to allow you to take that time off or treated you even worse after your request, you may also have a claim for disability discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. Workplace stress that causes depression and/or anxiety, for example, can constitue a mental disbility, and if your employer takes any adverse employment action against you because of it, then your employer may be discriminating against, harassing, or retliating against you.

You should speak with a California employment law attorney to fully assess your rights.