# Wrongful Termination Lawyer San Diego | Fired Unlawfully? > If you were fired illegally in San Diego County, our employee lawyers fight for justice in wrongful termination and retaliation cases. Case review. Source: https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/wrongful-termination/ Firm: Employment Lawyers Group — employee-side employment lawyers since 1993. Serving San Diego County, California. Phone: (619) 320-3000 (calling is the fastest way to reach the legal team) Office: 330 “A” St, #60, San Diego, CA 92101 Contact form: https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/contact/ Consultations are free and confidential; cases are taken on contingency. --- The phrase wrongful termination is a buzz word. In California, an employment termination is only wrongful if it is in retaliation because the employee took issue with an illegal practice of the employer. The tort of wrongful termination has also been expanded to include job terminations when an employee is on a protected medical leave ([FMLA](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/leave-of-absence-attorney-orange-county/), disability, or cancer), due to pregnancy, because of race, religion, a leave right for [military leave](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/fired-for-military-leave/), duty or training, jury service, domestic violence victims, or a protected characertistic such as sexual orientation or identification. False reasons, mistakes of fact, and unfair job terminations by themselves are not wrongful termination in California. Employees eager to find out if they can sue for wrongful termination are advised to focus on the employer's reason for terminate first. Is the reason in writing? What was said orally? Who said it? What was their position? Is the reason untrue? For instance, did the employee both steal money and complain the employer had underage minors working past midnight in violation of various labor laws? Only after telling an experienced employee attorney the employer's stated reason for termination should the employee talk about their theory on why they were really fired. ## (619) 320-3000 TO SPEAK TO A SAN DIEGO EMPLOYEE LAWYER **EXAMPLES OF WRONGFUL TERMINATION** Firing employees to avoid paying wages, or because the employee complained about wages is illegal. Gould v. Maryland, 31 Cal.App.4th 1137, 1148, 37 Cal.Rptr.2d 718, 724 (1995) held an employer’s termination of an employee to avoid paying accrued commissions and vacation pay violated California Labor Code Section 201 and created a wrongful termination case. Firing an employee because they refused to work in an unsafe workplace An employee quits after telling the employer repeatedly they are tired of hearing somebody use offensive racial slurs in the workplace A nurse refuses to work when the staffing ratio is not met An employee is a witness in a [sexual harassment](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/sexual-harassment-attorney-orange-county/) investigation, their hours are immediately cut, they are soon suspended, and then fired ### **FORCED TO QUIT** Employees can quit and sue if their employer has refused to remediate an intolerable, illegal working condition within a reasonable amount of time. In general, employers should be aware of the intolerable working condition and have an opportunity to correct it. Whether a forced to quit case is viable is an extremely delicate legal issue. Employees are strongly advised to speak to an experienced employee lawyer before quitting. In addition, employees should speak to an experienced job termination lawyer before writing the reasons why they are quitting, or telling their employers. While the Employment Lawyers Group has succeeded when employees provide reasons for quitting that are other than the intolerable, illegal conditions, it is difficult. Many employees have the urge to thank their employers for the opportunities they provided, or provide reasons that have nothing to do with illegality such as going back to school, childcare, or needing to move on. Employees must understand that legal cases are subject to proof in a court of law. People who do not know the employee will cast serious doubt the employee quit due to the alleged illegal activity, and maybe even wonder if the illegal activity happened in the first place, if the written reasons for quitting completely fail to mention the intolerable, illegal working conditions. When an employee quits also matters. If an employee decides to quit 6 months after the alleged intolerable conditions occurred this is most likely a negative fact for the case. Likewise, employees who stay on for years after the intolerable working conditions and do not quit cast doubt that the working environment was really that bad. This is often true in sexual harassment cases. Victims of terrible sexual harassment usually want nothing to with the employer. They cannot go back and face the physical workplace, or any of the people around. They might even find it embarassing to see coworkers who saw the sexual harassment. Just deciding to stay at the employer, see the sexual harasser, and the site of trauma is a hard fact for a jury to understand. **Please call (619) 320-3000 if you think you have grounds to quit and sue** ## Our Firm: No Upfront Fees or Costs ### Contingency Fee Representation All employment cases for employees are taken on a **contingency basis**. We are only paid a fee **when and if we win** your case, and we **advance all litigation costs**. Our goal is to make expert legal representation accessible to every hardworking employee. ### Serving San Diego County We have proudly served all of San Diego County since 1993. Ready to discuss your case? (619) 320-3000 Submit A Contact Form The Employment Lawyers Group has successfully handled 2,000+ Separate California Employment Cases ## Media Engagements ## Sample Case Results breach of commission contract $1,150,000 Unpaid commissions of two plaintiffs unpaid wages $875,000 For 4 oil field service industry workers whose times worked were not recorded on timesheets and were on-call forced to work without pay standby pay case $800,000 Controlled stand by class action settlement Disclaimer: These results are based on the facts of these specific cases and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case. ## Practice Areas [Discrimination Age, Disability, FMLA/CFRA, Gender, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, and Sexual Orientation discrimination claims.](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/discrimination/) [Unpaid Wages & Overtime Recovering earnings for overtime, bonuses, commissions, meal & rest break violations, and prevailing wage claims.](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/unpaid-wages/) [Sexual Harassment Compassionate and effective representation for sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims.](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/sexual-harassment/) [Wrongful Termination Representing employees terminated in violation of public policy, contracts, or California and federal law.](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/wrongful-termination/) [Leaves & Retaliation Protecting employees who face adverse actions after reporting illegal activity or taking protected medical leave.](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/leaves-of-absence/) [Whistleblowers Advocating for employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse under California and federal whistleblower protection laws.](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/protecting-whistleblowers/) ## Our California Locations ### Bakersfield [BakersfieldLaborAttorney.com](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com) 5401 Business Park S, #214, Bakersfield CA 93309 [(661) 412-9600](tel:6614129600) ### Los Angeles [EmployeeLawCA.com](https://employeelawca.com/) 611 Wilshire Blvd, #1023, Los Angeles CA 90017 [(323) 525-1600](tel:3235251600) ### Orange County [WorkLawyerOC.com](https://worklawyeroc.com) 2522 Chambers Rd, #100, Tustin CA 92780 [(714) 210-8000](tel:7142108000) ### Riverside [RiversideEmploymentLawyer.com](https://riversideemploymentlawyer.com) 9496 Magnolia Ave, #208, Riverside CA 92503 [(951) 367-1000](tel:9513671000) ### Sacramento [SacramentoLaborAttorney.com](https://sacramentolaborattorney.com) 777 Campus Commons Rd, #200, Sacramento CA 95825 [(916) 340-0000](tel:9163400000) ### San Bernardino [EmploymentAttorneySanBernardino.com](https://employmentattorneysanbernardino.com) 337 N. Vineyard Ave, #400, Ontario CA 91764 [(909) 663-2100](tel:9096632100) ### San Diego [SanDiegoEmployeeLawyer.com](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com) 330 "A" St, #60, San Diego CA 92101 [(619) 320-3000](tel:6193203000) ### San Francisco / Bay Area [BayAreaEmploymentAttorney.net](https://bayareaemploymentattorney.net) 524 Union St, #400, San Francisco CA 94133 [(877) 525-0700](tel:8775250700) ### San Jose / Silicon Valley [SiValleyLaborLawyer.com](https://sivalleylaborlawyer.com) 111 N. Market St, #300, San Jose CA 95113 [(877) 525-0700](tel:8775250700) ### Sherman Oaks [WorkLawyerCA.com](https://worklawyerca.com) 13418 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks CA 91423 [(818) 783-7300](tel:8187837300) ### Torrance / South Bay [JobTerminationLaw.com](https://jobterminationlaw.com/) 3655 Torrance Blvd, 3rd Floor, Torrance CA 90503 [(310) 842-8600](tel:3108428600) ### Ventura / Oxnard [VenturaEmploymentLawyer.com](https://venturaemploymentlawyer.com) 4030 West Hemlock St, Oxnard CA 93035 [(805) 200-0100](tel:8052000100) ### Additional Sites [BostonLaborLaw.com](https://bostonlaborlaw.com) [DcLaborAttorney.com](https://dclaborattorney.com) [FresnoEmployeeLawyer.com](https://fresnoemployeelawyer.com) [JobLawyer.net](https://joblawyer.net) [MarylandLaborAttorney.com](https://marylandlaborattorney.com/) [ModemStud.com](https://modemstud.com) [VintageLosAngeles.org](https://vintagelosangeles.org) [WorkplaceLawyer.org](https://workplacelawyer.org) ## About Firm Founder, Karl Gerber Firm Founder, **Karl Gerber**, has been an employment and wrongful termination attorney since **1993**. He has represented a wide range of employees throughout California. Mr. Gerber has won **51 of the binding arbitrations and jury trials** he first chaired, and a number of his appeals are published. This deep trial experience is the foundation of the firm's strategic approach to litigation. The employment attorneys employed by the Employment Lawyers Group have worked at the firm well in excess of five years, have also tried many different labor cases, and have all been **extensively trained on employment and wrongful termination law by Karl Gerber**. [Meet Karl Gerber](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com/karl-gerber/) ## Ready to Discuss Your Case? Your rights as an employee matter. Submit a contact form and we'll get back to you. Submit A Contact Form [Call (619) 320-3000 Now](tel:6193203000)