Fresno Employee Rights Lawyers
Free Case Evaluation
$2 Billion
in Personal Injury Results
$150 Million
in Employment Law Results
for First Responders
Tough representation for police officers, firefighters, and first responders in California
Fresno, with more than half a million people, is located in San Joaquin Valley, California. The city is home to numerous employers and attracts residents and tourists alike for its notable theaters, museums, schools, and community services. The businesses, communities, and residents of the City of Fresno and Fresno County rely on the local police, fire departments, and emergency responders to keep them safe and secure.
At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we’ve been helping the public and private employees who protect Fresno by protecting them when their employers violate their rights. These violations include discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination of employment, improperly adversely affecting a worker’s employment, or failing to properly compensate a worker. We demand that their employers comply with the federal and state laws that protect employees and honor their collective bargaining and executive compensation agreements. Call us today if your employee rights are being violated or at risk.
Our lawyers have obtained more than $150 million for our first responder clients. Some of our notable successes include:
$11.65 Million
for an LAPD K9 Bomb Unit dog handler in retaliation case.
$11.56 Million
jury verdict for a former LAPD Bomb K9 trainer who faced discrimination and retaliation after he reported violations of the law.
$10.1 Million
secured a $10.1 million verdict on behalf of a Captain at the Los Angeles Police Department, against the Los Angeles Police Department.
$5.9 Million
for ten LAPD motor officers who claimed they were retaliated against for refusing to follow a ticket quota.
$5.8 Million
against the City of Los Angeles in a retaliation case on behalf of an LAPD officer.
$3 Million
for six firefighters who suffered retaliation after blowing the whistle on LAFD’s dangerous and unlawful building inspections.
$3 Million
on behalf of six Whittier police officers who allegedly faced retaliation for refusing to participate in an illegal quota.
$13.1 Million
for two male LAPD police officers in a sex discrimination and retaliation case.
$10.1 Million
verdict for a Captain at the Los Angeles Police Department, against the LAPD.
$5.3 Million
verdict in favor of an African American member of a Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad for harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
$3.6 Million
for an LAPD employee facing retaliation after standing up for a female officer who had been subjected to harassment and discrimination.
$3.59 Million
for a Japanese-American police officer for harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
$2.8 Million
secured a $2.8 million verdict on behalf of a now-retired Riverside Police Department Officer against the City of Riverside.
$2.23 Million
for three LAPD female employees for discriminatory and retaliatory actions.
Quick questions
- Which workers do your Fresno employment lawyers represent?
- What types of employee claims do you handle?
- What are the main requirements for filing an employment discrimination claim in Fresno?
- What are the main requirements for filing a harassment claim in Fresno?
- What are the main requirements for filing a retaliation claim in Fresno?
- What laws protect Fresno employees from discrimination?
- How do your Fresno employment lawyers fight for employee rights?
- How much is my employee rights claim worth?
- Do you have a Fresno employment discrimination lawyer near me?
Which workers do your Fresno employment lawyers represent?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our attorneys represent government and private employees, contractors, and volunteers. Many of our clients work in the following jobs:
- Law enforcement officers. We represent police officers, sheriff’s officers, deputies, and other workers who help keep Fresno safe. Law enforcement employees help stop crime, respond to vehicle accidents, inform communities about crime prevention, respond to emergencies, and provide other helpful services.
- Firefighters. Firefighters protect Fresno from fires (including wildfires) that can destroy homes and businesses, smoke, hazardous chemicals, and other dangers.
- First responders. Our Fresno employment attorneys fight for all types of first responders, including paramedics, EMTs, court officers, correction officers, park rangers, and other first responders.
McNicholas & McNicholas LLP has been fighting for employees for 35 years. Our lawyers work with professionals who understand your specific job, discrimination professionals, financial experts, and other liability and compensation professionals. We file claims against the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department, the Fresno Fire Department, and other Fresno employers.
What types of employee claims do you handle?
Our Fresno employment lawyers handle all types of employment claims, including the following:
- Discrimination and harassment claims. These claims require that employers are liable when they - negatively affect your employment, harass, or enable harassment - of employees who belong to a protected class (a group of people defined by their identity characteristics or other specific criteria). We discuss these claims in more detail below.
- Retaliation claims. These claims involve employers who try to intimidate or punish you because you dare to assert your employee rights or help other workers assert their employee rights. We discuss retaliation claims in more detail below.
- Wage and hour claims. You work hard to serve the Fresno region. At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our employment attorneys hold employers to their obligation to pay you for your hard work. Our Fresno employment lawyers file wage and hour claims based on the following:
- The Equal Pay Act
- The Fair Labor Standards Act
- California’s employment laws
- Fresno County’s regulations
- Any written contracts you have
- Executive compensation claims. We hold employers to their duty to compensate the department chiefs, managers, supervisors, and other executives according to the terms of any written compensation contracts. We demand that employers pay executives their compensation as they earn it. Compensation includes salary, health insurance, any other types of offered insurance, retirement benefits including pensions, severance pay, and other types of executive compensation.
- Qui tam/whistleblower claims. Our Fresno employment lawyers represent police officers, firefighters, and other first responders when they file claims of employer fraud through the federal False Claims Act or the California False Claims Act. Generally, workers who disclose governmental fraud may be awarded a percentage of any recovery.
- Family medical leave claims. Most of the employers who employ first responders of all types are obligated to comply with the federal and California family leave laws that help workers take care of sick or ill family members and welcome newborns and adoptees to their families.
- Wrongful termination. At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we fight aggressively to obtain orders reinstating workers who have been fired illegally and to compensate them for their financial damages.
- Other employment claims.
What are the main requirements for filing an employment discrimination claim in Fresno?
In California, most employees, contractors, and volunteers have the right to file a discrimination claim if they belong to a “protected class” and their employer adversely affects any aspect of their employment status.
Protected class status
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and federal discrimination laws protect workers when employers affect their employment because of any of the following factors (depending on the identity characteristic and the applicable law):
- Race, national origin, color, or ancestry
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression
- A disability
- Being 40 years of age or older
- Religion
- A medical condition
- Genetic information
- Military/veteran status
- Marital status
Our employment lawyers can explain if you meet the “protected class” requirement.
Adverse employment conditions
Adverse employment includes any of the following:
- Refusing to consider or hire an applicant
- Terminating a worker’s employment
- Failing to promote a worker who is eligible for a promotion
- Giving the worker undesirable job assignments
- Negatively affecting the worker’s compensation and benefits
- Transferring a worker to less desirable locations
- Denying education and training opportunities
- Failing to provide the use of the employer’s facilities
- Denying disability leave
- Failing to provide reasonable accommodations for a person with a disability
- Not providing retirement benefits
- Negatively affecting a worker’s terms and conditions of employment
Discriminatory practices apply to employment decisions, harassment, and retaliation based on your protected class status.
What are the main requirements for filing a harassment claim in Fresno?
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and federal anti-discrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC define workplace as employers harassing or tolerating harassment in the workplace by any supervisor, coworker, or anyone else with regular access to the workplace. Employers have a duty to create, implement, monitor, and enforce harassment protection policies.
Workers can file a harassment claim if they are a target of the harassment or if they observe the harassment.
There are two types of workplace harassment:
- Hostile work environment harassment. Generally, employers in Fresno cannot make your job unbearable or prevent you from doing your job. Examples of hostile work conditions include offensive (including sexually offensive) conversations, jokes, social media postings, images, physical contact, and nonconsensual sexual contact.
- Quid pro quo harassment. This type of workplace harassment happens if your employer or someone who can determine your job status or workplace conditions your work opportunities on sexual favors or sexual advances.
What are the main requirements for filing a retaliation claim in Fresno?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our employment lawyers protect police officers, firefighters, and other first responders when employers try to punish them for asserting their rights or helping another worker assert their rights. Your rights include the right to:
- File a discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, workplace injury, or a qui tam/whistleblower claim
- Refuse sexual advances
- Refuse to participate in discrimination or harassment of another worker
- Request reasonable workplace accommodations to perform your work due to a disability or pregnancy
- Request family medical leave
- Assert any other legal right
What laws protect Fresno employees from discrimination?
Our Fresno employment lawyers use every federal and California law to protect employees from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. These laws include the following:
California laws
- California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA); and
- The California False Claims Act; and
- California Family Rights Act; and
Federal laws
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA);
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963;
- Family Medical Leave Act;
- Federal False Claims Act;
- The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and;
- The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).
We also assert your rights that collective bargaining agreements and executive compensation agreements provide.
How do your Fresno employment lawyers fight for employee rights?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we have decades of experience fighting for employee rights. We’ve secured more than $150 million for first responders.
Our attorneys begin each case by getting to know you and understanding your employment and personal concerns. We’ll explain your rights, prepare you for each step of the claims process, and fight for all the compensation you deserve.
Our Fresno employment lawyers work with professionals in your line of work, experts who can use data and statistics to show when and how discrimination occurs, financial experts, and others to help show that your employer violated your rights and explain, in detail, all the compensation you deserve. We argue cases before federal and state agencies and in federal and state courts, including the following:
- The California Civil Rights Department (CCRD);
- The S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC);
- The Superior Court of Fresno; and
- The US District Court for the Eastern District of California.
How much is my employee rights claim worth?
You work hard to obtain a job where you can serve the public. You deserve full compensation for all your losses when your employer violates your employment rights. Our Fresno employment lawyers demand the following damages, depending on the type of claim you have:
- Lost income and benefits. These losses include:
- Wages, salary, overtime pay, bonuses, and other forms of compensation
- Loss of vacation time or leave time
- Loss of seniority
- Loss of insurance coverage
- Denial of executive compensation
- Emotional distress
- Damage to your reputation
- Legal fees and court costs
- Statutory damages
- Punitive damages for unconscionable conduct
We also seek court orders requiring that employers rehire you, grant or properly consider a promotion, fairly consider your job application, and for the enforcement of other employee rights.
Do you have a Fresno employment discrimination lawyer near me?
McNicholas & McNicholas meets with police officers, firefighters, first responders, and other Fresno employees at our Los Angeles office located at 10866 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1400. Our employment lawyers also consult with employees by phone and through online discussions.
Our employment lawyers have helped numerous employees like you obtain the full compensation and benefits they deserve.
Contact our respected Fresno employment lawyers today
Our team of nearly 20 lawyers has more than three decades of experience protecting the rights of our clients in court and through settlement negotiations. We hold police departments, fire departments, and other California and local employers accountable when they discriminate or violate your employee rights. Our family of lawyers is ready to fight to protect your job and your future now. Call McNicholas & McNicholas LLP or fill out our contact form today to schedule a free consultation.
List of Agencies We are Suing or Have Sued
Police departments
- Berkeley PD
- Chula Vista PD
- Culver City PD (Non LEO)
- El Monte PD
- El Segundo PD
- Fremont PD
- Huntington Beach PD
- Palo Alto PD
- Pomona PD
- Redondo Beach PD
- Riverside PD
- San Diego PD
- Ukiah PD
- Walnut Creek PD
- Willits PD
Sheriff departments
- Contra Costa Sheriff (Non LEO/Employment)
- LA Co Sheriff
- Santa Barbara County Sheriff
- San Joaquin County Sheriff
- Shasta County Sheriff
Fire departments
- Berkeley Fire/CoB (Non LEO)
- LAFD
City of Richmond (Non LEO/Employment)
LAWA