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✦ 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
Filing a workers' comp claim is a legal right. Punishing a worker for exercising that right is a crime. But in Newhall, where many workers are employed by small contractors, oil field service companies, and Main Street businesses, retaliation happens with alarming regularity. A roofer files a claim for a fall injury and is told not to come back. A pipe fitter reports a chemical burn and finds his hours cut to nothing. A restaurant worker slips in the kitchen, files a claim, and is suddenly written up for performance issues that were never mentioned before. California law prohibits every one of these actions, and the penalties for employers who retaliate are severe.
Labor Code Section 132a is the primary statute protecting workers from retaliation for filing workers' comp claims. Under Section 132a, it is illegal for an employer to discharge, threaten to discharge, or in any manner discriminate against an employee because that employee filed or intends to file a workers' comp claim, or because the employee received a rating, award, or settlement.
Retaliation takes many forms, and employers rarely announce their illegal intent. Common retaliatory actions include:
Termination is the most blatant form. An employer fires the worker shortly after a claim is filed, typically offering a pretextual reason such as poor performance, violation of company policy, or a supposed layoff. The timing alone, termination within days or weeks of filing a claim, creates a strong inference of retaliation.
Reduction of hours or reassignment to undesirable duties serves the same purpose as termination but is harder to prove. A Newhall construction worker who filed a claim and suddenly finds himself assigned to clean-up duty with half his previous hours is being retaliated against. An oil field worker transferred from a high-paying well maintenance position to a minimum-wage yard position after filing a claim is experiencing the same thing.
Hostile work environment tactics include isolating the worker from coworkers, subjecting them to excessive scrutiny, denying promotions or raises, or creating conditions so intolerable that the worker quits. Constructive termination, where the employer makes the job unbearable rather than firing the worker directly, is treated the same as a wrongful discharge under the law.
Threats and intimidation discourage workers from filing claims in the first place. A Newhall contractor who tells his crew that anyone who files a workers' comp claim will be fired is violating Section 132a even if no one has yet been terminated. An employer who tells a worker to use his personal health insurance instead of filing a comp claim is interfering with a protected right.
The penalties under Labor Code Section 132a are designed to make retaliation costly for employers. A worker who proves retaliation is entitled to reinstatement to their former position, reimbursement of lost wages and benefits from the date of the discriminatory action, an increase of up to 50% of their disability benefits (capped at $10,000), and costs and expenses incurred in bringing the claim.
Beyond Section 132a, retaliatory termination may also violate Labor Code Section 1102.5 (whistleblower protections) and give rise to a wrongful termination claim in civil court. A civil wrongful termination claim can provide damages for emotional distress and punitive damages that are not available through the WCAB, substantially increasing the employer's exposure.
Employers who engage in retaliation also face increased scrutiny from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and may be subject to penalties under other labor code provisions if the investigation reveals additional violations such as wage theft, failure to carry workers' comp insurance, or misclassification of employees.
Newhall's workforce is particularly vulnerable to retaliation because of the town's economic structure. Many workers are employed by small contractors and businesses where the employment relationship is informal and the employer exercises outsized control over the worker's livelihood. A plumber who works for a three-man shop has no HR department to complain to. A construction laborer employed by a subcontractor who works for a single general contractor knows that being blacklisted means losing everything.
The oil industry in the Newhall area often relies on specialized subcontractors who employ small crews for well maintenance, pipeline repair, and site remediation. These employers operate in a tight-knit network where reputation matters. An oil worker who files a claim may find himself unable to get hired by other companies in the area, a form of industry-wide blacklisting that is difficult to prove but devastating in its effect.
Small employers along the Main Street corridor may genuinely not understand that retaliation is illegal, or they may calculate that the risk of an employee actually filing a retaliation claim is low enough to justify the action. Many Newhall workers do not know their rights under Section 132a, do not know that retaliation claims can be brought before the WCAB, and do not know that legal representation for these claims costs nothing upfront.
Yazdchi Law P.C. handles workers' comp retaliation claims for Newhall workers at the Van Nuys WCAB. Attorney Eman Yazdchi pursues both the underlying workers' comp claim and the retaliation claim simultaneously, ensuring that the employer faces consequences for its illegal conduct while the worker receives every benefit owed.
Injured at work in Newhall? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →Retaliation claims require an attorney who understands both the workers' comp system and the employment law principles that underpin Section 132a. Eman Yazdchi is a Board-Certified Workers' Compensation Specialist, one of fewer than 1% of California attorneys with this credential. This means demonstrated expertise in the full range of workers' comp disputes, including retaliation and discrimination claims. For Newhall workers who have been punished for exercising their legal rights, a specialist provides the credibility and legal skill needed to hold the employer accountable.
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