Q: Are there any laws protecting temporary/contract employees in CA from false allegation and wrongful termination?
Im at my desk building a guide for the company procedures before my shift started. A fellow female full time employee was there in the area we shared at her desk which is at least 15 feet from mine. After finishing my notes I politely asked the employee if it would be a good idea if she myself and our other coworker have quick 5 to 10 min meetings in the morning. She immediately gets up from her desk walks to where I’m sitting hands on her hips and starts going in on me about a meeting that had nothing to do with her or no relevance to what I asked. I asked where is all this aggression coming from we had a great working relationship she continues I put my head down in disbelief. This angered her saying “it’s disrespectful I’m not keeping direct eye contact” runs across the room acting like she is so hurt by that I’m still sitting I then stand hands to my side and said “really”. I leave to go smoke she reports to HR I approached her in a aggressive manor I get fired (It’s all on tape)
A:
I am sorry but the circumstances you report likely give you no protection from being disciplined or terminated.
In California you are considered to be employed at will unless there is an agreement to the contrary with your employer about that status. The employer of an at will employee has the legal right to discipline and terminate the employee at any time and for any reason or even for no reason at all. That same employer can use information it receives from any source, regardless of the credibility of that source, and regardless of whether there is evidence to disprove the accounts of the source.
Good luck to you.
A:
I disagree with Mr. Pedersen. There are, in fact, laws which protect you from a wrongful termination. You can file a claim with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing or with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They each have websites where you can learn what your rights are and where you can file a claim of discrimination based on your sex, female. Ask yourself if you think a man would have been fired in similar circumstances. You can copy and paste the links to those agencies here: https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/ and
https://www.eeoc.gov/
Check out their websites. There is a lot of really good information there.
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