Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: At will termination for cause

If the termination is based on retaliation for requesting a protected leave, "at will" is not part of the analysis. More informaiton is needed to determine whether you have a claim

Re: At will termination for cause

Being an at-will employee is not a defense to firing an employee for an unlawful reason. If the motivation for terminating your employment was because you asked and qualified for leave under FMLA, you were wrongfully fired.

You have the burden of proving you were fired unlawfully. Among the evidence you can cite to prove your case is that the reasons used to justify the termination were unsupported by facts and the company deviated from it's own policies and procedures in firing you. Timing is also very important. If you were fired immediately after you requested leave, your case will appear much stronger than if it happened months later.

You should have your case reviewed by an experienced employment law attorney in your area to get a better idea of the merits of your case and what options you have available to you.

Re: At will termination for cause

The Family and Medical Leave Act and a similar CA law -- the CFRA -- requires employers to grant employees who work in a company with more than 50 employees (and who have worked 1250 hours in the past year) 12 weeks of leave for his/her own serious medical condition, or for a relative's serious medical condition. The employer is required to assure the employee when leave is granted that the employee can return to his/her position. The employer is not allowed to retaliate in any way against the employee, or to interfere with the employee's right to leave. If you are fired during the time you are on leave, or soon after, you may have a wrongful termination claim -- even in an "at will" state, employers are required to follow all laws -- if they violate those laws, they can be sued. If you want more info, or want to send me more facts, pls reply to my private email. Good luck.

Re: At will termination for cause

If you can prove the facts you stated, then you have a claim for illegal firing. Feel free to contact me if interested in pursuing this and doing it right.