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I was wrongfully terminated from my managerial position due to false harrassment accusations, what can I do?

My company's HR department never contacted me during the course of the investigation. I was never told exactly what I was being accussed of or who really accussed me. I worked there for almost 7 years, and I'm getting close to retirment. Do I have a case?

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Attorney answers (1)

Reputation Level 20
It's impossible to advise you with just these bare facts - 7 years of employment, no opportunity to participate in the company's investigation, accusations you don't know about but say are false.

If you didn't have an employment contract or a union membership, you were an "at will" employee and therefore could be fired without notice at any time for any reason or no reason at all, and you were able to quit without notice and for any reason or no reason. Likewise, the employer can do less than fire you, like demote you or reduce your hours or salary.

"Wrongful termination" has a specific meaning in the employment context, generally having to do with discrimination based on someone's gender, sexual orientation, ago, race or national origin, or any other feature of a "protected class," or because of someone acting as a "whistleblower" to the company's wrongdoing that would make it contraryto public policy to allow the company to fire the whistleblower.
When a company fires an employee, their right to treat the employee "at will" butts up against the employee's right to not be fired for a pretextual reason that breaches the "covenant of good faith and fair dealing" that's in all CA contracts.

Since these types of claims are very fact specific, and Avvo is no substitute for a complete legal consultation, you need to sit down with an employment lawyer and disclose everything you've observed and experienced at your workplace, so your claim can be properly evaluated.


Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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