Wrongful Termination

[alameda220]

I am software developer in California who has recently been discharged from a job at a firm in Silicon Valley. Verbally I was told by my manager that he was pleased with my performance as long as I have reported to him. However, he explained that the company was restructuring and in an effort to save money was reducing the headcount at offices in both California and England. He further explained that as much development work as possible would be moved to the China office.

In a written evaluation submitted to me a month before my dismissal, several false claims were made about my job performance all which are all easily refutable with documented proof. Is it lawful to knowingly make false claims about an employee's job performance as reasons for termination?
When applying for a new job how am I required by law to state the reasons for this dismissal? Can I describe the reasons that were verbally stated to me?
What is the Dismissal Process mandated by California?

 

[cbg]

First of all, what you describe is not a wrongful termination. A wrongful term is not one in which you are fired for something you did not do; it is when you are fired for a reason prohibited by law.

In most cases, it is difficult to make claims of falsity about job performance because much of it is based on personal opinion. It is possible for different managers or supervisors to hold different opinions about your performance. That does not mean that either of them is making deliberate false statement. Even a statements on the lines of "John only produced 300 widgets" when there are records showing that John produced 500 widgets, could conceivably be honest error and not deliberate falsity. So you'll have a very hard time proving that the statements are deliberately false. Even if there were a law against it (which there isn't).

Although there is no law that says you have to provide any reason for your termination to a prospective employer, not doing so can have negative repercussions. You can provide the reasons that were given to you, but if there is ANY chance that the prospective employer will contact the former employer, you would be very wise to let the prospective employer know what is likely to be said.

There is no state that has a specified procedure that employers must follow in order to terminate someone.

 

[alameda220]

Thank you for your reply.