Can I Get Fired for Having COVID? - Robert Rogers Employment Law

Can I Get Fired for Having COVID?

July 15, 2022 Robert Hampton Rogers Comments Off

COVID-19 is a 100 year pandemic that has shaken our work environment to its very roots. Were you wrongfully terminated due to issues related to Covid?

If you were forced to work over objection in a work environment you reasonably believed was unsafe and were then fired or disciplined, you may have a case under California law. It is also wrong for your employer to refuse to let you get tested or quarantined after a Covid exposure. Numerous laws enacted at the national and state level deal with working safely during Covid-19. California Labor Code section 6400 et seq. requires employers to maintain a safe and healthy work environment. California Labor Code sections 6310 and 1102.5 provide important public policies that protect employees from experiencing retaliation in the form of adverse employment actions from employers after opposing practices that the employee believes in good faith violates the law.

If you or a family member became ill or even disabled due to Covid and your employer punished or fired you for taking a medical leave, your employer may be liable for wrongful termination. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (DFEH) protects employees from discrimination due to Covid related disabilities pursuant to California Government Code section 12940 et seq., and even protects employees from retaliation if reasonable accommodations, like medical leave, are needed. In fact, your employer may be required to provide you with up to 12 weeks of protected unpaid leave due to Covid-related absences needed by you or immediate family members pursuant to the California Family Right Act (CFRA). CFRA was recently expanded in many respects and now makes it more inclusive.

As seasoned lawyers with 39 years of experience fighting for an employee’s rights, we can help you steer through your employment related issues associated with the Covid pandemic.

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