Legal Question in Employment Law in California

And incident happened in March, I came in to work consuming an alcoholic beverage. That day I was randomly selected for an alcohol test. My manager at the time pushed it under the carpet. Only management knew about this. My manager was under investigation for other incidents at the work place. While this was going on someone anonymously reported my incident from March. My manager was fired from the build up. I was written up when a new manager was put in place. I was written up for the incident in March along with my attendance. Two weeks before the 90 improvement plan was over. I came into work late and was terminated.

Is this legal to be given a final notice without any other prior notice or to combine the two incidents (march incident and attendance incident)? I was written up last year sometime. But when I was reviewed the supervisor at the time made it seem like since i was under 10 minutes on most of them, it wasn't that bad but try to be on time. At our station, they were relaxed about attendance. So to received a final notice when all year no one said anything about it, I wasn't even pulled to the side, doesn't seem correct.


Asked on 10/28/09, 8:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Kirschbaum Law Offices of Michael R. Kirschbaum

Unless you have an employment contract that limits the employer's right to terminate you, employment is presumed to be terminable at the will of either party. This means that an employer can terminate employment with or without cause. They are not legally required to provide warnings or notice.

If you work for the government or belong to a union, other protections may apply. But if you work in the private sector, and have no employment contract (as most people do not), you can only take legal action if the reason for your termination was an illegal one.

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Answered on 11/03/09, 2:54 pm


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