Many Californians find themselves wanting to quit their jobs. Not all reasons to quit are legally actionable. Yet, some circumstances may be considered termination. When work conditions become unbearable, harsh, or intolerable, and you quit, it may be considered a constructive discharge. Being placed on unpaid leave may be one.
California’s laws protect employees who are forced to quit in certain circumstances. Constructive discharge or constructive terminationlaws treat the employer as if they were fired instead. This means that the employee can avail themselves of certain rights they otherwise wouldn’t receive if they willingly quit. This includes filing a wrongful termination lawsuit.
What is Constructive Discharge
Constructive discharge happens when working conditions are intolerable and the employee quits. Being placed on unpaid leave for an indefinite future may amount to intolerable conditions. It’s not enough to show that a supervisor mistreated an employee or that the employee was unhappy at work. To succeed on a constructive discharge claim, the discharged employee must show that they were forced to quit because the working conditions were intolerable.
What is considered intolerable is viewed from an objective standpoint. The question usually becomes whether an average person in the same situation would have also resigned. Egregious conduct, like physically harassing employees, demoting them, or humiliating them, can meet the standard.
Constructive discharge includes quitting due to discrimination and harassment. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibit discrimination in employment based on protected characteristics. Protected characteristics include gender, race, religion, sex, nationality, age, or disability.
California’s civil rights laws also add future protections from discrimination to employees. Under the Department of Fair Employement and Housing Act (DFEH), it is illegal to discrimination against employees based on age, sexual orientation, nationality, color, ethnicity, physical or mental disability, religion. Pregnancy and retaliatory acts are also protected grounds. Therefore, if forced resignation occurred due to any of these grounds, you may be a victim of constructive discharge.
Constructive discharge is a high standard and often challenging to meet. Having an experienced employment law attorney can help show the necessary intolerable working conditions.
How to Prove Constructive Discharge
In a constructive discharge case, an employee can bring forward a wrongful termination claim. Prevailing on these types of claims allows the employee to receive compensation from the employer.
To succeed on a claim for constructive discharge, the employee has the responsibility to prove that the termination was not voluntary. This requires a showing of the underlying reason, a showing that the employee was forced to quit through wrongful or illegal means.
There are three elements for a successful constructive discharge claim.
- The employer forced resignation by intentionally and knowingly creating an intolerable work environment;
- The unbearable, hostile workplace conditions forced the employee to quit;
- Illegal, retaliatory or discriminatory reasons motivated the employer’s actions.
A central issue to these claims is whether the employer knew that the conditions were intolerable. It doesn’t require a showing that the employer engaged in retaliatory action. Only a showing that the employer knowingly allowed intolerable conduct. For example, suppose the employer cut your hours. In that case, you can report the working conditions to management and enable the employer an opportunity to remedy the situation. This also acts as notice to the employer that you find the conditions intolerable.
Constructive Discharge Examples
In California, constructive discharge are difficult to prove. Whether evidence of constructive discharge is apparent will depend on the specific circumstances of a case. However, below are some examples of what can be found as intolerable working conditions. It’s important to note that these examples described do not, on their own, lead to a constructive discharge finding. The employee still has to show that these actions were motivated by underlying conduct, such as illegal, retaliatory, or discriminatory reasons.
- Unpaid leave
- Repeated berating;
- Continoulsy disparaging or intimidating conduct;
- Harassment;
- Reducting responsibilities;
- A change in shifts or hours;
Document Everything
Distinguishing between quitting and a constructive discharge is a complicated legal question. Consulting with an employment lawyer to get a legal assessment of a potential claim is essential.
However, you don’t have to wait to get an attorney to take action if you believe you are forced to quit. Evidence is critical to a wrongful termination case. You can save written documentation of statements. A layoff notice or other evidence can be helpful to prove that the employer’s actions were motivated by illegal, retaliatory, or discriminatory reasons. You can write down details of conversations and discussions after they occurred, noting the time, date, and place where they occurred.
Other helpful evidence to obtain is any employee handbooks or policies, an employment contract if there are any, and job performance reviews.
Consult with an Experienced Employment Law Attorney
Employees who want to bring a claim should be mindful of the statute of limitation. Our attorneys specialize in wrongful termination claims. If you have been forced to resign and believe the facts amount to constructive discharge, call our employment lawyers at SANFORD A. KASSEL, A Professional Law Corporation, at 909.884.6451.
