Areas of Practice

The Church Law Firm concentrates its practice on plaintiff employment law - wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment cases - and plaintiff personal injury.

Employment Law Cases

Wrongful Termination - Discrimination

In California, most employees are "at-will" meaning they can be fired for any reason or no reason, or no good reason, so long as the reason is not discriminatory. "Discrimination" refers to treating a person differently because of one of the following:

Age
Disability
Gender
Race

Religion
Gender Preference
Whistle-blowing activity

Harassment

Harassment experienced because of one of the above categories (age, disability, etc.) is also unlawful and need not result in being fired to be the subject of a lawsuit. There are two basic types of harassment:

Hostile Work Environment
A hostile work environment can be created by derogatory or offensive remarks or conduct about a person's age, disability, sexual preference, race, etc.
Quid Pro Quo
This is a Latin term that in connection with harassment means an employee is expected to provide sexual favors in exchange for keeping his or her job.

Wage and Hour

Where an employer fails and refuses to pay an employee according to law, such as for overtime, or will not provide the employee with required meal and rest breaks, the employee can file a claim with the California Labor Commissioner. The Church Law Firm can assist and represent the employee with their claim.

Personal Injury

Persons injured by the wrongful conduct of another (such as in collision) have a right to be compensated for the harms they have suffered - also known as "damages." Damages refers to the adverse consequences resulting from a wrongful act. There are two basic categories of damages - economic and non-economic. Economic are those things that can usually be proven by a piece of paper such as medical bills, wage loss, repairing dents in a car, etc. Non-economic damages are all of the other adverse consequence including physical pain, emotional distress, anxiety, frustration, etc.

"For every wrong there is a remedy."
(Maxims of Jurisprudence, Civil Code section 3523)