Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I was just terminated from a job today. For reasons that are beyond me, and false. A co-worker that just recently quit has made false allegations against my character. We have worked together for two years and she has said nothing during this time to me or managment about anything that is said now after she has quit.
These are the things in paticular that are on the termination paper:
-suggestive sexual harrasment comments toward female staff
-discussing sexual behavior with minors
-striking a child w/ an object for the child's misbehavior during the activity (using a ball to firmly hit the child)
the first two are completely false, and when asked about the third one, there was an explanation. I did not firmly through a ball at the child.
I feel like my character is being slandered, and now this will be on my permant record. How do I go about fighting these statements, and the person who has said them out of anger?
1 Answer from Attorneys
In general, unless you are in a union or have a written employment contract, you are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or fired any time for any reason, other than 'illegal' discrimination under the Civil Rights, or Whistle-blower, or similar statutes. In your case, the employer has serious complaints brought against you, which provide more than adequate reason to terminate any employee. Your claim they are false, or that you can 'explain' them differently, does not mean the employer must take your word for it or disregard them. If you could prove through substantial credible evidence that you are completely 'innocent' and that all allegations are entirely fabricated and completely untrue, and if you provided all that evidence to the employer when confronted with the allegations before termination, then you might have a right to feel the firing was unfair. But, unfair is not 'illegal', nor does it make for a valid or meritorious case regarding termination. IF you could prove false statements were knowingly made against you with allegations of criminal or immoral conduct, then you could consider suing the person for 'slander', but the burden of proof is on you to prove all the above to a legal standard.
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I was originally representing an insurance company as a Broker... Asked 1/14/10, 9:38 pm in United States California Labor and Employment Law