Although California’s at-will employment law allows your employer to terminate you at any time for a variety of reasons, they are not allowed to fire you for any reason that is considered illegal. If your employer has fired you because of a protected category such as your race, gender, or sexual orientation, you may have grounds for a wrongful termination claim.
If you are considering pursuing a claim, you might be wondering what the average payout is for a wrongful termination claim. Determining how much compensation you’re owed can be difficult, especially if you’re unfamiliar with employment law. Fortunately, the team at Domb & Rauchwerger can calculate how much you should receive from a claim.
How the Average Payout for Wrongful Termination Is Calculated
To gain a deeper understanding of the average wrongful termination payout and get an idea of how much you might receive from a claim, you’ll want to learn about the damages available to employees who’ve been wrongfully terminated. According to our California wrongful termination lawyers, the average payout consists of the following damages:
- Lost income: This is the amount of wages you would have continued to receive, up to the present, if you had not been wrongfully terminated. The higher your wages during your employment, the larger the amount you are potentially owed.
- Future lost income: This is the amount of wages that you may continue to lose in the future as a result of your wrongful termination. Courts will not award an indefinite amount of future lost income. Furthermore, you are required to mitigate your damages, which means you must be looking for alternative employment after your wrongful termination. If you do not make any effort to look for other work after you have been wrongfully terminated, you may not be able to receive future lost income.
- Loss of job benefits: You may be entitled to compensation from your loss of health insurance or other benefits you received while at your job.
- Emotional distress: This is typically the damage type that varies the most and will likely determine the value of your case. The more you can demonstrate that you have suffered emotional distress as a result of the wrongful termination, the larger the damage award you could receive. Typically, employees who have been seeing a doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist for their mental state after a termination will receive more emotional distress damages than someone who has not seen any doctor for their mental state.
- Punitive damages: These damages can serve to punish your employer for the unlawful actions they took against you. An attorney can determine if you’re eligible for these damages and pursue them on your behalf.
If you choose to work with an attorney on your wrongful termination case, they’ll determine which of the above-listed damages you’re eligible to receive. Depending on the circumstances of your termination and the ways it’s impacted your life, your compensation may differ from the average payout for wrongful termination.
That said, if your case is successful, you’ll likely receive the financial remedies you need to replace your income losses, cope with the mental health effects of your unlawful termination, and re-enter the workforce with confidence and financial security.
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Who Is Eligible to Pursue a Wrongful Termination Payout?
If you’ve been discharged from your position under circumstances you believe to be unlawful, you might be eligible to file a wrongful termination claim.
To seek financial compensation, your employer must have terminated you because of an illegal reason, such as unlawful discrimination based on a protected category or retaliation due to engaging in protected activities.
If our attorneys believe that you have a case, they will submit a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and request an immediate right to sue letter so that they can move forward with a claim on your behalf.
How to Improve Your Chances of Receiving a Fair Payout for Wrongful Termination
In addition to hiring an experienced wrongful termination attorney, there are several steps you can take to improve your chances of receiving a fair payout. Here’s what you can do to make your case as successful as it can be:
Keep Relevant Documents
To recover the damages that are commonly included in the average wrongful termination payout, your attorney must prove that your firing was directly motivated by your protected category. To accomplish this, they’ll need evidence that shows you were fired because of your gender, race, sex, etc., and not because of another reason like poor performance.
Saving emails, written documents, and other records such as praise you’ve received from your employer or protected complaints that you have made to your employer, can provide your lawyer with the evidence they need to win your case.
If any of your co-workers were privy to the unlawful motivation behind your discharge, give their name(s) and contact information to your attorney as well. Your lawyer can use their testimony to strengthen your claim.
Save Proof of Financial Losses
Keeping records of the monetary losses you incur due to your unlawful firing can help your wrongful termination attorney calculate how much you should receive from a payout. Make sure to save the following documents:
- Pay stubs or wage statements from your job
- Any records related to your job search after you were terminated, including applications you submitted to other companies.
- Any other records that show financial losses related to your termination
Don’t Wait to Hire Legal Counsel
Putting off your claim could cost you the compensation you deserve. That’s because there’s a statute of limitations for wrongful termination suits in California. According to state law, you could have as little as two years to take legal action against your employer, and some claims come with even shorter statute of limitations.
Instead of risking losing the financial remedies you’re owed, get in touch with our experienced and trusted legal team today. Working with a knowledgeable attorney will not only allow you to get your claim filed on time but will also dramatically increase your chances of receiving a fair wrongful termination payment.
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Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Wrongful Termination Lawyer
Attorneys Zack Domb and Devin Rauchwerger have years of experience defending Fortune 500 employers at one of the nation’s largest employment defense firms. Now that Domb & Rauchwerger are fighting on the side of California’s workers, they’re able to use their in-depth knowledge of employment defense strategies to take on even the most powerful employers.
To benefit from their unique experience, contact our firm today and schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a knowledgeable attorney. They’ll answer any questions you have about the average payout for wrongful termination, determine if you have grounds for a claim, and potentially fight for the compensation you need to move forward with your career.
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