City of Orange Employment Lawyers Representing Firefighters
Free Case Evaluation
$2 Billion
in Personal Injury Results
$150 Million
in Employment Law Results
for First Responders
Strong advocacy for firefighters when fire departments discriminate in California
Firefighters in Orange risk burns, respiratory illnesses, crashing structures, and death on a regular basis. At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we understand how physically and emotionally demanding firefighting work is. The difficulties involved in being a firefighter are all the more reason firefighters should be judged on their abilities and quick thinking and not on their appearances or where they come from. Our City of Orange employment lawyers hold fire departments accountable when they discriminate against or harass their employees. We also file retaliation claims, wrongful death lawsuits, employee rights lawsuits, and employee contract lawsuits. Call us now to protect your financial and personal future.
Quick questions
- What types of employment rights cases do you handle in Orange?
- When can firefighters in the City of Orange file an employment discrimination claim?
- When can firefighters in the City of Orange file a harassment claim?
- Can firefighters file retaliation claims if employers react negatively to workers who assert their rights?
- What laws protect the employee rights of firefighters in Orange?
- How much is my employee rights claim worth in California?
- Do you have a firefighter employment lawyer near me in Orange?
Our firefighter employment results include:
$3 Million
in a retaliation case. Our lawyers secured this sum for six firefighters who disclosed a dangerous and unlawful “Operation Catch-Up” fire department program.
$2.75 Million
in another retaliation case. Our attorneys obtained this amount for a fire department employee who disclosed potential grant fraud and abuse.
$1.5 Million
in a discrimination, harassment, and retaliation case. Our Orange County employment lawyers helped two firefighters obtain this amount of compensation when their employer violated the California Fair Employment Housing Act.
$1.5 Million
on behalf of a worker for a municipal fire agency employee who had a disability. We filed a joint discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claim when, after completing his rehabilitation, our client was given a desk job, harassed, and ultimately forced to resign due to his disability and workplace restrictions.
What types of employment rights cases do you handle in Orange?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our family of lawyers has been fighting for firefighters and many other first responders for 35 years. Our Orange employment lawyers are respected across California by former clients and the legal community for our record of success in handling the following types of claims:
- Civil rights claims – claims based on a protected class, including:
- Discrimination claims;
- Harassment claims;
- Retaliation claims, including:
- Retaliation for filing a discrimination or harassment claim;
- Retaliation for asserting your legal rights or helping another coworker assert their rights;
- Financial compensation including:
- Wage and hour benefits;
- Executive compensation;
- Qui tam/whistleblower claims;
- Wrongful termination claims.
When can firefighters in the City of Orange file an employment discrimination claim?
Generally, anyone who works for the City of Orange Fire Department (including employees, independent contractors, and volunteers) can file an employment discrimination claim under the provisions of California’s discrimination law or federal discrimination laws. We can explain which law(s) protect you.
In order to file a discrimination claim, firefighters must show that:
- They belong to a protected class
- The City of Orange Fire Department must adversely affect your employment
Protected class
The California Fair Housing and Employment Act protects the following classes of firefighters:
- Age (40 and over)
- Ancestry, national origin
- Disability, mental and physical
- Gender identity, gender expression
- Genetic information
- Marital status
- Medical condition
- Military or veteran status
- Race, color
- Religion, creed
- Sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions)
- Sexual orientation
Title VII of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal discrimination laws provide similar class protections.
Adverse employment conditions
Our Orange City lawyers work to show that your employer adversely affected your employment in one or more of the following ways:
- Failing to provide reasonable workplace accommodations if you have a disability or you are pregnant
- Firing you
- Harassing you
- Not considering you for a promotion
- Not considering your job application even though you have the necessary qualifications
- Not providing the education and job assignments you need to advance
- Reducing your pay
- Suspending you
When can firefighters in the City of Orange file a harassment claim?
Harassment at work is often more than just uncomfortable. It can make your work life intolerable and impact your daily ability to do your job. Firefighters usually work in teams, which means that if others harass you, your ability to extinguish fires and protect the residents of the City of Orange can be directly affected.
In Orange, fire departments may commit employment discrimination when they harass workers who are members of a protected class. The California Fair Housing and Employment Act (CFEHA) prohibits harassment:
- By any person (employer, supervisor, coworker, or anyone with access to the fire department or any place firefighters work)
- Of employees, independent contractors, applicants, volunteers, and unpaid interns
Fire departments can be held liable for harassment:
- If they should reasonably know of workplace harassment and fail to take corrective actions
- If they, depending on their size, fail to create and implement policies and procedures that educate their firefighters about their employment harassment rights
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides similar harassment protections.
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we represent firefighters and their support staff when either of the following types of harassment takes place:
Hostile workplace harassment
Employers create a hostile work environment when any type of verbal communication (such as jokes, messages, images, and conversations) or physical conduct (such as impeding a worker’s movements) makes a worker feel offended, abused, intimidated, or unable to perform their job duties. Sexual harassment includes leering, sexual advances, sexual gestures, and any verbal communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Quid pro quo harassment
Quid pro quo harassment occurs when anyone in a position of authority regarding any aspect of your job or career conditions your employment on sexual advances or sexual favors.
Can firefighters file retaliation claims if employers react negatively to workers who assert their rights?
Our City of Orange, California employment lawyers have a long history of filing retaliation lawsuits when employers such as fire departments punish any worker who asserts their right to:
- File a discrimination or harassment claim;
- File a whistleblower claim for reporting employer fraud;
- File a worker’s compensation claim;
- Support another worker’s employee rights;
- Request medical leave to care for a family member, such as a newborn or an elderly parent, or
- Request reasonable workplace accommodations if you have a disability or if you are pregnant.
We often seek punitive damages when employers deliberately retaliate because you asserted your rights.
What laws protect the employee rights of firefighters in Orange?
At McNicholas & McNicholas, our lawyers assess every federal, California, and Orange County law that protects firefighters, police officers and other first responders. These laws include:
California employment laws:
- The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA);
- The California False Claims Act
- The California Family Rights Act
Federal employment laws:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA);
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963;
- The Family Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act;
- The Federal False Claims Act
- The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act;
- The Trauma Treatment Act;
- The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Our Orange employment lawyers represent firefighters in the following jurisdictions:
How much is my employee rights claim worth in California?
Firefighters deserve to be placed in the same position as if their employee rights had not been violated. At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we demand compensation for all your losses to date (back damages) and your future losses (front damages), depending on your type of claim, including:
- Income losses, including wages; salary, and executive compensation;
- Benefit losses, including health insurance, paid vacations, stock options, and retirement benefits;
- Loss of seniority;
- Emotional suffering;
- Damage to your reputation;
- Statutory damages;
- Legal fees, court costs, and interest;
- Punitive damages; and
- Court orders for reinstatement, promotions, reasonable workplace accommodations, and other remedies.
Do you have a firefighter employment lawyer near me in Orange?
McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP consults with firefighters and their support staff at our office located at 10866 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1400, Los Angeles, 90024. We also discuss your employee rights remotely - by phone and through online video consultations.
We understand how worried and upset you are. We’re here to guide you calmly and clearly through the litigation process.
Get help from our City of Orange firefighter employment lawyers today
Firefighting is a noble job that protects the residents, property, and land throughout Orange. Firefighting also pays your bills and provides income for you and your family. At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, our lawyers have earned the respect of numerous firefighters and first responders for our personal dedication and our impressive record of success. If your employer violates your rights, call our Orange firefighter employment lawyers or fill out our contact form today to schedule a free consultation.
List of fire departments we are suing or have sued
- Berkeley Fire/CoB (Non-LEO)
- Los Angeles Fire Department