When is wrongful termination a violation of the California Labor Law?
San Francisco, CA: Dana worked at Longs Drug Stores for 23 years, from managing to bookkeeping. “I really liked my job—it was challenging and I liked putting a grumpy customer in a good mood,” she says. But Longs was bought out by a large corporation that seemingly didn’t much care about their employees: Dana says she was wrongfully terminated and believes the new company violated the California Labor Law. The California labor code goes by the “at-will” employment rule, which means that an employer is generally able to terminate or demote an at-will employee with or without just cause. But there are many exceptions to the rule and Dana’s employer might have violated the California Labor Law by the “defamation of character” doctrine. Dana may be able to sue for wrongful termination if her employer intentionally defamed her to justify termination. Dana was falsely accused of being a thief, which violates the California labor code. “I was terminated for ringing an employee’s sales up on t
