The Coronavirus is a worldwide sickness that has been active since roughly December 2019. It has caused thousands of cases across the world, and it has had a profound effect on the international economy. It has also affected local business and other companies. Workers who have been diagnosed with the illness have needed to take time off from work, resulting in lowered profits for businesses. Many companies have opted to shut down in the meantime, but some have persevered – and have outright punished or fired workers who have taken time off work due to contracting the virus. Our team of attorneys at the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group will fight for you if you were wrongfully terminated due to contracting COVID-19.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus is a novel version of the SARS virus. It has been dubbed COVID-19; it appeared late in 2019 and has become a global pandemic, affecting thousands of individuals across the world. Because of this, many countries have entered shutdowns and have recommended businesses to temporarily stop their practices.
The virus causes individuals to suffer flu-like symptoms that are much more severe and damaging. Individuals in poor health, the elderly, and immune-compromised individuals are the most at risk for suffering severe injuries or even death. COVID-19 can spread very easily through airborne particles and by touch.
Wrongful Termination from Coronavirus
In California, the Family Medical Leave Act allows individuals to take time off for various reasons. Employees are eligible for leave under this act if they have worked for the company for at least a year, have worked at least 1,250 hours the previous year, and work at a location with at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of the business. The Act allows leave for the following reasons:
- Familial bonding with a newborn baby
- Recuperation from a serious health condition or illness
- Caretaking for family members who have serious illnesses or health conditions
- Must handle exigencies from someone’s military service or must care for a family member’s injuries that were sustained during active military duty
Regarding the coronavirus, individuals may need to take time off to tend to their own illness or to tend to the illness of family members. This can take weeks, especially if the individual is seriously ill and has been hospitalized. However, some employers have ignored workers who have taken leave under the FMLA and have decided to terminate the workers. This is outright legal and is ample grounds for wrongful termination.
Suing Your Employer for Wrongful Termination
If your employer fired you due to having COVID-19, you will need a fair amount of evidence to sue. California is a state of at-will employment, so employers can technically fire their workers at any point in time for any reason at all, even if there is no specific reason. The reason simply cannot be against the law or discriminatory in some way. Therefore, your employer could claim that you were fired for an innocuous reason that was not related to the sickness, or that they were already planning to fire you. It is hard to prove the intent of your employer if they will not admit to the true reason, so you will need a lot of evidence to strengthen your case.
Firstly, you should have any proof that you had the sickness to begin with. Medical receipts and doctor’s confirmations will be crucial to this bit of evidence.
Next, if you had any conversation with your employer regarding time off or sick leave due to the illness, you should print out these conversations. You can include emails and text messages. It will be much harder to prove that you had these talks if they were in person or over the phone; you should also ask for written confirmation where possible. Similarly, if you only spoke with Human Resources, you should get their written receipt.
If any coworkers were also terminated for the illness or if they can attest to the reason you were fired, you should add their testimonies to your claim. However, it can be hard to include their statements – they may not want to risk the safety or security of their jobs. If they speak out against the company or support you, they run the risk of being retaliated against by your employer.
If your job has any employee handbook that outlines the causes for termination, or if oyu signed a contract that details the reasons for which you can be fired, you should make copies of it. You can use this as a breach of the handbook, regulations of the workplace, or even as a breach of contract.
It is very important that you find a talented wrongful termination employment lawyer in Los Angeles who can help you with your lawsuit. If you have not ever filed a claim before if you are totally unfamiliar with employment law, it is in your best interest to find expert legal representation. Without legal aid, you will not be able to proceed very far with your case. It is recommended that you let our attorneys complete all the legwork while you focus on recovering from the illness. You may need to be in self-quarantine for a while or you may need immediate medical treatment.
Coronavirus Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Compensation
If you were wrongly fired from your job for contracting coronavirus, you can file a claim to receive sufficient compensation. This compensation can be enough to pay for various damages and losses. We will fight to make sure that your lost income is covered, which may include promotional pay, benefits, tips, commissions, and more. We can even have future lost income reimbursed if you would be unable to go to work for a period of time.
You may be able to be reinstated into your previous position. However, many individuals do not opt for this, especially if their bosses are still present. They may feel as though they will be targeted again in the future.
We will pursue pain and suffering damages as well, which are emotional damages that affect your mental or psychological states. These damages are worth a lot of money in some cases.
In some cases, you could potentially receive punitive damages. Punitive damages are handed out in times of gross negligence or if you were intentionally harmed. These are hard to win, though, and can only be secured by expert lawyers, as judges and juries often view them as unnecessary or excessive.
You deserve the fullest compensation if you were wrongfully fired due to contracting coronavirus. Let our lawyers assist you and secure you the maximum compensation for your losses.
Deadline to File a Lawsuit against your Employer for Wrongful Termination
The statute of limitations is the time during which you can file a lawsuit. If you do not sue within that time period, you will be unable to receive any compensation in the future. It is important that you act quickly – the longer you wait to get your lawsuit rolling, the more likely it is that you will lose evidence or it will become corrupted, or you may not be able to get the proof at all.
The statute of limitations is a process. If you choose to file a claim through the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you have 180 days to do so. If you choose to file a claim through California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), you will have 300 days to take action. Either way, the respective commission will look over your claim and decide if it warrants a lawsuit. They will then issue a right to sue letter, and you will have 1 year to take action.
There are a few ways that the statute of limitations can be suspended. The most relevant to employment claims concerns the location of the defendant. If the defendant has left the state for a period of time, the statute would be suspended until he returns.
Many times, individuals are not able to get the compensation they deserve because they do not know when the statute of limitations expires. If you come to our firm, we will tell you how much more time remains on your claim. We will gladly file your lawsuit for you and be sure to adhere to any necessary deadlines.
Why Choose Our Firm?
The California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group is one of the premier employment firms in Southern California. Our expert Los Angeles attorneys have handled thousands of wrongful termination lawsuits and we know the best methods for success with your case. If you were ill with COVID-19 or you had to take care of an ill family member who had coronavirus, you should not have faced illegal termination from your employer. Our aggressive lawyers will fight for your rights as a worker.
Call today to set up a free legal consultation with our law firm. We’ll walk you through the case and ensure that you are given the answers you need. You should not be in the dark regarding the tactics of your employer. We’ll also tell you the value of your claim and what we believe we can win for you. If you want to hire us for our services, you will receive our zero fee guarantee. This means that you won’t have to pay any out of pocket fees – we’ll cover the case’s cost from start to finish, and if we win, your employer will cover our bills. If we lose, we take no payments and you owe us nothing whatsoever. We’ll eat the costs of the case ourselves.
To sue your employer for wrongful termination due to coronavirus, get in touch with the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group.
