San Francisco Employee Rights Lawyers
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$2 Billion
in Personal Injury Results
$150 Million
in Employment Law Results
for First Responders
35 years of experience helping police officers, firefighters, and first responders secure the job positions, compensation, and benefits they deserve
San Francisco is a cultural, scientific, and financial center of California. Many of the leading technical companies in the world are based in San Francisco. San Francisco attracts tourists from across the United States and across the globe. Ever since the San Francisco gold rush, people have flocked to the city and county for its beauty, parks, beaches, job opportunities, sports teams, and arts. Homeowners, businesses, and tourists all rely on the local police departments, fire departments, emergency medical technicians, and many other first responders to protect themselves and their property.
At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we believe the people who protect San Francisco deserve the same protection when it comes to their employment. Our San Francisco employment lawyers file discrimination claims, harassment claims, wrongful termination lawsuits, retaliation lawsuits, and claims to ensure you are being paid all the compensation you deserve. Call our employee rights lawyers if your job, work conditions, or pay are at risk.
McNicholas & McNicholas has secured more than $150 million for our first responder clients. Some of our notable verdicts and settlements 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.
$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.
$2.5 Million
for four officers from the Internal Surveillance Unit, an elite sector of the LAPD’s Special Operations Division in a retaliation case.
$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.
$2.3 Million
for a female SWAT officer denied a position on an elite squad.
$2.23 Million
for three LAPD female employees for discriminatory and retaliatory actions.
Quick questions
- Who do your San Francisco employment lawyers represent?
- What employee rights do you fight for?
- Who is eligible to file an employment discrimination claim in San Francisco?
- Who is eligible to file a harassment claim in San Francisco?
- Who is eligible to file a retaliation claim in San Francisco?
- What laws do your San Francisco employment lawyers assert when discrimination occurs?
- How do you advocate for San Francisco employees?
- What damages can I receive if my employee rights claim is successful?
- Do you have a San Francisco employment discrimination lawyer near me?
Who do your San Francisco employment lawyers represent?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we’re proud to represent the following workers who keep San Francisco safe from crimes, fires, and emergencies. We represent employees, contractors, and volunteers (in certain cases).
- Law enforcement officials. We represent the people of San Francisco who work for police departments, fire departments, the county sheriff’s office, and other law enforcement employers. Our lawyers understand how critical it is for the people who fight crime, educate communities about preventive safety, and respond to accidents and other emergencies to be able to focus 100 percent on their jobs and not their employment status or compensation.
- Firefighters. These brave workers fight all types of fires (including wildfires) that can ruin businesses, destroy residences, take the lives of loved ones, and cause devastating burn injuries. San Francisco firefighters also battle smoke and chemical toxins on a regular basis. We fight for their employee rights.
- First responders. Our San Francisco employment attorneys are strong legal advocates for every person who comes to our aid during emergencies. These workers include EMTs, paramedics, court officers, park rangers, correction officers, and other first responders.
Our team works with discrimination experts, financial experts, and other professionals to help show that your employer violated your employee rights. We file claims against the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Office, the San Francisco Fire Department, and other San Francisco employers.
What employee rights do you fight for?
At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we handle all kinds of employee rights claims, including these:
- Discrimination and harassment claims. Federal and state laws authorize these claims if you are a member of a protected class (a class defined by one or more identity characteristics) and your employer adversely affects your employment, harasses you sexually, or creates a hostile workplace. We discuss these claims below.
- Retaliation claims. Our San Francisco employment lawyers hold employers accountable if they punish you or try to pressure you because you assert your employee rights or help another worker assert their rights. We discuss retaliation claims below.
- Wage and hour claims. Our lawyers demand that you be paid for the work you do, on time and in the proper amount. You shouldn’t have to fight to get your paycheck or salary. We use the following laws and documents to protect your financial interests:
- The Equal Pay Act;
- The Federal Labor Standards Act;
- California’s employment laws;
- San Francisco County’s regulations;
- Any written contracts you have.
- Executive compensation claims. Some law enforcement, fire department, and first responder officials have formal executive compensation contracts because they have management jobs or unique skills. Our San Francisco employment lawyers hold your employers to their duty to pay you all the benefits you deserve based on your contract. These benefits include salary, health insurance, retirement benefits (including pensions and 401ks), severance pay, and other compensation.
- Qui tam/whistleblower claims. At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we represent police officers, firefighters, and other first responders when employers retaliate because the workers disclosed fraudulent activity by the employer. We assert your rights based on the federal False Claims Act or the California False Claims Act.
- Family medical leave claims. We hold employers to their duty to honor your right to leave to care for a family member or bring a new child into your home. We also file retaliation claims if your employer retaliates because you asked for the leave that federal and California law authorize.
- Wrongful termination. We seek job reinstatement and financial compensation if a police department, fire department, or another employer fires you in violation of federal laws, state laws, your executive compensation contract, or your collective bargaining contract.
- Other employment claims.
Who is eligible to file an employment discrimination claim in San Francisco?
The federal and California discrimination laws generally protect employees, contractors, and volunteers who work for employers who are governed by these laws. To file an employment discrimination claim, you must be a member of a “protected class” and your employer must have adversely affected your job or job duties.
Protected class status
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and federal discrimination laws protect workers based on the following identity characteristics:
- Race, color, national origin, or ancestry;
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;
- A disability;
- Being 40 or older;
- A medical or genetic condition;
- Religion;
- Veteran/military status;
- Marital status.
We can explain if you are a member of a “protected class.”
Adverse employment conditions
You should meet this requirement if your employer does any of the following:
- Refuses to review your job application;
- Fires you from your job;
- Does not fairly consider your promotion;
- Gives you undesirable job assignments;
- Transfers you to a less favorable location;
- Denies the chance to improve your career through education and training opportunities;
- Denies family leave or disability leave;
- Fails to provide reasonable accommodations to do your job if you have a disability or you are pregnant;
- Fails to pay you properly;
- Fails to grant you your contractual benefits;
- Adversely affects your employment in other ways.
Discriminatory claims also include harassment or retaliation due to your protected class status.
Who is eligible to file a harassment claim in San Francisco?
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) protect workers from workplace harassment. Workplace harassment happens when your employer harasses you or tolerates harassment by a supervisor, coworker, or anyone else with access to your workplace. Employers must proactively try to stop harassment by creating, implementing, supervising, and enforcing workplace harassment protection policies.
Police officers, firefighters, and first responders can file a harassment claim if they are the recipients of the harassment or if they observe the harassment of other workers.
Our San Francisco employment lawyers handle several types of harassment claims:
- Hostile work environment harassment. This harassment occurs if your employer makes your job unbearable or prevents you from doing your job. Common examples include offensive conduct, conversations, images, social media content, and physical contact. Sexual harassment is a form of workplace harassment.
- Quid pro quo harassment. We file harassment claims if your employer or someone who has authority over your job bases your employment or workplace conditions on sexual advances or sexual favors.
Who is eligible to file a retaliation claim in San Francisco?
You can file a retaliation claim if your employer adversely affects your employment when you assert any of the following rights, including the right to:
- File a discrimination claim;
- File a harassment claim;
- File a retaliation claim;
- File a wrongful termination claim;
- File a workers’ compensation claim;
- File a request for family medical leave;
- File a qui tam/whistleblower claim;
- Support another worker’s employment claim;
- Assert your employee compensation benefits;
- Refuse sexual advances;
- Request reasonable workplace accommodations to perform your work due to a disability or pregnancy;
- Assert any other legal right.
What laws do your San Francisco employment lawyers assert when discrimination occurs?
At McNicholas & McNicholas, we assert every federal, California, and San Francisco law that protects your employee rights. 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).
Our employment lawyers also seek enforcement of your collective bargaining agreements and executive compensation.
How do you advocate for San Francisco employees?
Our firm was founded by a family of attorneys, John McNicholas and his sons, Patrick and Matthew. We have tried hundreds of cases to jury verdict on behalf of clients. We have nearly 20 lawyers to fight with the experience and resources to fight for your employee rights.
We work to get to know your work history, why you like your job, and what employment and personal concerns you have. Our lawyers can explain your rights and your remedies. Our San Francisco employment lawyers will guide you through each step of the claims process. We’re skilled at anticipating and countering the arguments the employer’s insurance carriers and defense lawyers are likely to assert.
Our team is ready to help you now. We’re ready to be your advocate before federal and state agencies and in federal and state courts, including the following:
What damages can I receive if my employee rights claim is successful?
We understand how hard your job is. While serving the public is rewarding, there are many challenges. We seek to make you whole again – to place you in the same position as if your rights had not been violated.
Our San Francisco employment lawyers demand the following damages (which may vary depending on your type of claim):
- Lost income and benefits. These damages include:
- All types of compensation, including wages, overtime, and salary;
- Loss of vacation time;
- Loss of leave time;
- Loss of seniority;
- Loss of health and other types of insurance coverage;
- Denial of executive compensation;
- Emotional distress;
- Damage to your reputation;
- Attorney fees and court costs;
- Statutory damages; and
- Punitive damages for unconscionable conduct.
Our employment lawyers also seek court orders that direct your employer to rehire you, consider your job accomplishment, consider your promotion requirement, and provide other employee remedies.
Do you have a San Francisco employment discrimination lawyer near me?
McNicholas & McNicholas meets with police officers, firefighters, first responders, and other San Francisco employees at our Los Angeles office located at 10866 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1400. We also conduct phone and online video consultations.
We’ve helped many workers like you obtain the compensation and benefits they deserve.
Speak with our accomplished San Francisco employment lawyers today
At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we protect those who protect us. Call us 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