California employee advocates

In the United States, there are federal laws in place to protect employees. The taxes are paid to the government to fund these agencies so everyone can enjoy the protections. One illegal thing these agencies protect against is called wrongful termination. This is when an employer fires their employee for an illegal reason. This often involves discrimination. So, there are laws to stop employers from discriminating against their employees. These laws are not always followed, and sometimes the employees are afraid to report their employer. If an employer fired their employer because of their religion, gender, race, sex, or protected categories, the employee could then file a lawsuit against their former employer. There are many types of discrimination that are protected. Another reason someone could be illegally fired is that they did report their employer, and the employer got mad at them. This is also not allowed. Someone could file a lawsuit against their employer for other reasons too. Employers are required to pay a minimum wage, which is $15 in California. If an employer tries to secretly pay someone less, then they could be taken to court and made to pay their employee the money they were owed. If someone reports their employer for not paying minimum wage, they cannot be fired for that reason. That is called retaliation when the employer is angry and fires the ex-employee. This law is so employees will not be afraid to lose their jobs if they report their employers' illegal behavior. Employment law can be very complex. Sometimes someone could be owed money from their ex-employer for something that happened a long time ago. There is something called the statute of limitations: the amount of time that can go by before you are not allowed to file charges anymore. The statute of limitations for wrongful termination could be different in different states so if someone thinks their employer or ex-employer owes them money, they need to talk to an attorney about the details of their case