“Eman at Yazdchi Law was extremely professional, responsive, and supportive at all times. He and his staff exceeded all of my expectations.”
Andrea Dalessandro
✦ Board-Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — State Bar of California ✦
Your employer cannot punish you for getting hurt. If they did, we’ll make them pay.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law
You reported a legitimate injury — a torn shoulder from lifting crates on a peach orchard along Pearblossom Highway, a back injury from carrying solar panels on a desert installation east of Littlerock Dam, or heat illness from working without shade on a construction site near 87th Street East. You filed your DWC-1 claim form. And then your employer fired you, stopped giving you shifts, moved you to the worst assignment, or made your working conditions so unbearable you felt forced to quit. This is workers' compensation retaliation, and it is illegal under California Labor Code §132a.
Retaliation is disturbingly common in Littlerock's agricultural and construction sectors. Small farm operators terminate injured workers and hire replacements rather than deal with insurance claims. Solar installation contractors reassign injured crew members to menial ground work at reduced hours. Agricultural labor contractors — the intermediaries between growers and field workers — are especially prone to retaliation because they view injured workers as replaceable. For immigrant workers in Littlerock's orchards and fields, retaliation is compounded by fear: fear of losing income, fear of being reported to immigration authorities, and fear of being blacklisted from future harvest work. Every one of these retaliatory actions violates California law.
Attorney Eman Yazdchi is board-certified in workers' compensation law and handles LC §132a retaliation claims for Littlerock workers from our Palmdale office, just 15 miles west on Pearblossom Highway. We speak Spanish and Farsi because many of Littlerock's agricultural workers need an attorney who communicates in their language. The penalties for employer retaliation are severe — reinstatement to your position, full back pay, and a mandatory penalty increase of $10,000 or more added to your workers' comp award. If the retaliation is extreme enough, you may also have a separate civil wrongful termination lawsuit for emotional distress and punitive damages.
Labor Code §132a declares California's policy in plain terms: "It is the declared policy of this state that there should not be discrimination against workers who are injured in the course and scope of their employment." Any employer who violates this policy — whether a multinational solar contractor or a five-person orchard operation in Littlerock — faces mandatory penalties.
Retaliation is any adverse employment action taken because you filed or indicated an intent to file a workers' compensation claim. The action does not need to be outright termination. We have successfully prosecuted all of the following for Littlerock workers:
To prevail on an LC §132a claim, we establish three elements:
Littlerock's agricultural industry presents unique retaliation dynamics. Many farmworkers are employed through farm labor contractors (FLCs) rather than directly by growers. When a worker files a claim, the FLC may simply stop dispatching that worker while continuing to provide shifts to others — a form of termination that leaves no paper trail. We prove these patterns through dispatch records, co-worker testimony, and timeline analysis. Additionally, threats tied to immigration status are a separate criminal violation under California law, and we report them to the appropriate authorities while protecting your identity.
If we establish retaliation, the WCAB can order:
You may also file a separate civil wrongful termination lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Civil claims allow recovery of emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and full lost earnings — remedies not available through the WCAB alone. We evaluate every Littlerock retaliation case for both LC §132a and civil remedies to maximize total recovery.
Injured at work in Littlerock? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →LC §132a retaliation claims for Littlerock workers are filed and litigated at the Van Nuys WCAB. Civil wrongful termination claims are filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Our firm handles both proceedings and coordinates the strategy between them.
If your Littlerock employer threatened to report you to ICE or used your immigration status to discourage your workers' comp claim, that is a separate violation of California law. Your workers' comp rights exist regardless of immigration status under LC §3351. Contact our office at (661) 273-1780 immediately — we protect your identity while pursuing every legal remedy available.
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