“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
Filing a workers' compensation claim is your legal right under California law. But some North Hollywood employers treat it as a firing offense. They terminate workers who report injuries, cut hours to pressure injured employees into quitting, assign punitive tasks to workers on light duty, or create a hostile environment designed to discourage others from filing claims. This is illegal. California Labor Code section 132a specifically prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who file or intend to file workers' comp claims, and the penalties are severe.
Yazdchi Law P.C. represents North Hollywood workers who have been retaliated against for exercising their rights under the workers' compensation system.
Section 132a makes it a misdemeanor for any employer to discharge, threaten to discharge, or discriminate against an employee because they filed or intend to file a workers' compensation claim, received a rating or award, or testified in another employee's case. The statute applies broadly and protects workers from the moment they report an injury.
Retaliation can take many forms beyond outright termination:
North Hollywood's diverse economy creates specific retaliation dynamics across different sectors.
The NoHo Arts District's small theater companies and independent production outfits often operate with thin margins and small crews. When a stagehand or performer files a workers' comp claim, the financial impact feels outsized to a small employer. Some respond by declining to hire the worker for future productions or spreading word through the tight-knit local theater community that the worker is "difficult." In an industry built on personal relationships and word-of-mouth hiring, this kind of informal blacklisting can be devastating to a career even though it clearly violates section 132a.
The industrial operations along Lankershim Boulevard employ workers in physically demanding roles where injuries are common. Some warehouse operators, particularly those with high injury rates that drive up their insurance premiums through experience rating, develop a culture of discouraging injury reporting. Workers who file claims despite this pressure may find themselves written up for minor infractions, passed over for overtime, or laid off in a "reorganization" that conveniently eliminates the injured worker's position.
North Hollywood's restaurant scene has expanded dramatically alongside the Arts District boom. Kitchen and service staff who report injuries sometimes face schedule reductions or find themselves moved from lucrative shifts to slower ones. In an industry where a significant portion of income comes from tips, this kind of retaliation has an immediate and measurable financial impact.
Construction workers who report injuries risk not being called back to the next job. Subcontractors move from project to project, and hiring for each new job is often discretionary. A worker known for filing claims may find the phone stops ringing when the next North Hollywood development project begins staffing.
A successful LC section 132a claim can result in substantial compensation beyond your underlying workers' comp benefits:
These penalties are in addition to your regular workers' comp benefits. The employer faces them directly, which is why section 132a claims get employers' attention in a way that standard workers' comp claims sometimes do not.
Retaliation claims require a lawyer who understands both workers' compensation law and the evidentiary standards for proving discriminatory intent. Attorney Eman Yazdchi is a Board Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, and his experience includes prosecuting section 132a claims before the Van Nuys WCAB on behalf of workers from every industry represented in North Hollywood. He knows how to build the timeline, gather the documentation, and present the evidence that connects your employer's adverse action to your protected activity.
Because retaliation claims are heard at the same WCAB office as the underlying workers' comp case, your 132a petition will be filed and tried at the Van Nuys WCAB District Office, where Yazdchi Law appears regularly. We understand how the judges at that office evaluate retaliation claims and what evidence they find most persuasive.
Injured at work in North Hollywood? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →If you have been fired, demoted, had your hours cut, or experienced any other adverse action after filing a workers' comp claim in North Hollywood, contact Yazdchi Law P.C. immediately. Retaliation claims have deadlines, and the evidence needed to prove discriminatory intent is often time-sensitive. A free consultation with a board-certified specialist will help you understand your rights and the strength of your retaliation claim. You should never have to choose between your health and your job.
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