Workers' Comp Retaliation Lawyer in Simi Valley, California

Workers' Comp Retaliation Lawyer in Simi Valley, California

Filing a workers' compensation claim is your legal right under California law. No employer — no matter how large or how small — is permitted to punish you for exercising that right. Yet retaliation against injured workers remains one of the most persistent problems in the workers' comp system. If your Simi Valley employer fired you, demoted you, cut your hours, transferred you to an undesirable position, or created a hostile work environment because you filed a workers' comp claim, you have a cause of action under Labor Code section 132a, and Yazdchi Law P.C. will fight to hold them accountable.

Labor Code section 132a declares it the policy of California that no employee should be discharged or discriminated against because they filed or intended to file a workers' compensation claim. The statute provides powerful remedies: reinstatement to your former position, reimbursement of lost wages and benefits from the date of termination, a penalty of up to $10,000 payable to the employee, and payment of reasonable attorney fees and costs. A 132a petition is filed directly with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board — in your case, the Oxnard WCAB — and is heard by a workers' compensation judge alongside your underlying injury claim.

Retaliation does not always look like a pink slip. It can be subtle — a sudden negative performance review after years of satisfactory evaluations, a schedule change that makes it impossible to attend medical appointments, assignment to physically demanding duties that your doctor has restricted you from, or being passed over for a promotion you were previously in line for. We know how to recognize these patterns and document them as evidence of unlawful retaliation.

Simi Valley's economy includes a large number of government and public-sector employers — the City of Simi Valley, Simi Valley Unified School District, Ventura County agencies, and state and federal offices. Public employees sometimes face unique retaliation dynamics, including being pressured not to file claims by supervisors concerned about departmental budgets or safety records. We have seen this in public works departments, fire stations, and school campuses, and we pursue these cases with the same vigor regardless of whether the employer is a private company or a government entity.

Private sector workers in Simi Valley's manufacturing, retail, and healthcare industries also face retaliation. Small and mid-size employers along the 118 corridor sometimes terminate injured workers believing they cannot afford the insurance premium increase that a claim brings. That calculation is both wrong and illegal, and we make sure those employers face consequences.

What to Expect in Your Simi Valley Workers' Comp Retaliation Case

A 132a petition must be filed within one year of the retaliatory act. When you contact our firm, we immediately assess whether retaliation occurred and begin preserving evidence. We gather your employment records, medical documentation, communications with supervisors, and statements from coworkers who witnessed the discriminatory conduct.

We file your 132a petition at the Oxnard WCAB and litigate it alongside your workers' compensation claim. At hearing, we present evidence showing the temporal connection between your claim filing and the adverse action, the pretextual nature of your employer's justification, and the damages you suffered — including lost wages, lost benefits, and emotional distress. If successful, you are entitled to reinstatement, back pay, the $10,000 statutory penalty, and attorney fees. Our firm handles these cases on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we win.