-BREACH OF CONTRACT occurs when your employer fails to uphold documented terms of employment that were formally agreed upon at the start of employment. An employment agreement outlines the basic terms and conditions of employment and includes essential elements such as employee benefits, number of hours to be worked or period of time to be worked, grounds for termination, and non-compete, non-disclosure, and dispute resolution clauses. 

​

-DISCRIMINATION in the workplace occurs when an employee is treated unfairly due to specific characteristics that are protected under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, such as race, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age (if over 40), pregnancy and parenthood, veteran status, and disability. The employee can either be specifically targeted and mistreated due to their protected characteristic, or they might be disproportionately negatively impacted by a workplace policy or action. Under this umbrella are cases dealing with family, medical, and pregnancy leave. 

​

-RETALIATION describes instances in which an employee is punished or fired for asserting a protected right in the workplace. Some protected rights include the right to report that a law is being violated, the right to oppose or participate in an investigation about workplace harassment and/or discrimination, and the right to ask for reasonable accommodations for one's protected characteristics.

​

-SEXUAL HARASSMENT in the workplace is a form of discrimination that refers to unwelcome sexual conduct that leads to a hostile, offensive, or intimidating work environment. The conduct can be verbal, visual, or physical and does not need to be motivated by sexual desire for an employee. The offensive behavior targets the employee's real or perceived gender-identity, sex, sexual orientation, or any circumstances surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and other related medical conditions. 

​

-UNPAID COMPENSATION refers to instances in which employers neglect to compensate an employee the agreed upon amount or when they neglect to pay wages on time as required by law. Wages include hourly pay, fixed salary, commissions, piece-rate compensation, and compensation that varies by project. Wages must be accompanied by proper wage statements and are not permitted to be paid "under the table." 

 

-WRONGFUL TERMINATION describes when an employer ends the employment relationship for an unlawful reason. California is an at-will employment state, meaning that an employee can be fired for any reason with a few exceptions. These exceptions include termination due to discrimination against protected characteristics or due to an employee's disability, political affiliation or activity, victimhood of domestic abuse, or aids/hiv status. Employees also may not be terminated for whistle-blowing or any other retaliation. Intolerable work conditions that cause an employee to quit also qualify.