Can I Sue My Boss?

*The above chart is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of claims against employers but rather a general chart of common claims intended for informational purposes only.

What You Cannot Sue Your Employer For

Wrongful Termination: If You Were Terminated for Any, Non-Discriminatory Reason

Unless you live in Montana, which remains the only state that requires cause for termination, you live in an at-will state, which means you can be fired for any reason, or for a completely arbitrary reason.  The only reason you cannot be terminated is when the reason for your termination violates public policy.  (See, e.g., Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (1980) 27 Cal.3d 167, 172, 179-80.)  For example, if you were fired for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons, then you would have a wrongful termination claim.  

Hostile Work Environment: A “Hostile” Work Environment May Not Necessarily Qualify as a “Hostile Work Environment” Under the Law

In August 2016, an Article by Forbes noted that as many as seventy-five percent (75%) of employees have been affected by workplace bullying.  (https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2016/08/27/ the-enormous-toll-workplace-bullying-takes-on-your-bottom-line/.)   Nonetheless, even if you work in a “hostile” environment with a boss who yells, harasses, and/or bullies you, you probably would not have grounds to sue unless your employer is harassing you because of your membership in a legally protected class, such as race, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, race, religion, etc.  For example, as one article noted, if your boss is “An Equal Opportunity Jerk” and is a jerk to everyone, regardless of their status in a protected class, then you probably cannot sue unless he causes you emotional distress, which is a tough claim to prove.  (https://calaborlaw.com/my-boss-the-equal-opportunity-jerk/; see also Renteria v. Cty. Of Orange (1978) 82 Cal.App.3d 883, 838 [holding that an employee may pursue a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress against an employer outside of the workers compensation scheme but reiterating that such a claim requires extreme and outrageous conduct].)

Invasion of Privacy: Your Boss Can Invade Your Privacy

There is no law preventing your employer from reading your work e-mails, monitoring your Internet usage, and/or recording your phone calls (so long as they inform you of it beforehand and abide by certain other legal restrictions).  Now, if your boss, without any suspicion that you were unreasonably using your personal, non-employer-funded cell phone during work hours, walks over to your desk, picks it up, and starts reading your personal, non-work related text messages and e-mails, that’s a horse of a different color, and you may have a claim against your employer.

Discrimination: Not All Discrimination Against an Employee Is Illegal

If your boss treats you differently simply because he or she does not like you, that is not illegal, and in fact, is pretty common.  Again, if your boss discriminates against you because you are a member of a protected class due to your race, sex, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, etc., then, you have an actionable discrimination claim.  If your boss just plain does not like you, and it has nothing to do with your membership in a protected class, you may be out of luck.  That being said, no one likes working for a jerk, and it is always worth asking a licensed attorney whether you have a viable claim.