Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Much will depend on the circumstances and the reasons for your termination.

After 17 years of employment, you may have a case of wrongful termination.

See a local attorney.

There was a reason. Either they did not tell you what the reason was or you do not agree with the reason.

Your rights depend on whether you are considered an "at-will" employee. If you are, the employer does not even need a reason, as unfair as it sounds. Either party to the employment relationship may end it at any time for any reason, as long as it is not an unlawful one. If you had a contract with this employer, written, oral or implied, that restricted the ability of the employer to terminate you, that is something which should be addressed with an employment law attorney to determine whether the employer breached the terms of the agreement. If you believe the real reason you were fired, after 17 years, was an unlawful one, again, you should discuss this with an attorney for a legal opinion as to the merits of any possible claims.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to suffer the same fate as the economy crashes around us.

Your rights are to file for unemployment benefits, and to have any company provided medical insurance converted under COBRA rules. Contact your HR promptly to make sure you get that done if you intend to.

But the bad news for you is that, in general, unless an employee is civil service, in a union, or has a written employment contract, they are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or terminated any time for any reason, with or without �cause�, explanation or notice. That is, UNLESS the conduct is based upon discrimination, harassment or retaliation as defined as actually �illegal� under the ADA [disability], Civil Rights [age, race, sex, ethnic, religion, pregnancy, etc], FMLA [medical leave], Whistle-blower, or similar statutes. Now if the termination was illegal under the above definitions, feel free to contact me for the legal help you�ll need.