Your Trusted Employment Law Firm in Glendale , California

Glendale Employment Lawyer

When your job, income, professional reputation, or peace of mind is threatened by unlawful workplace conduct, it can feel overwhelming to know what to do next. Employees in Glendale and throughout the greater Los Angeles area deserve to work in environments free from discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and unlawful leave violations.

At Riggins Law, PC, we represent employees who have been mistreated by their employers. From office workers in Downtown Glendale and professionals near Brand Boulevard to healthcare workers, retail employees, hospitality staff, executives, and workers commuting along the 134, 2, and 5 freeways, our employment law firm in Glendale helps employees understand their rights and pursue accountability when those rights have been violated.

Our office is located nearby in Pasadena at 35 N Lake Ave #710, Pasadena, CA 91101 (View on Google Maps), making us conveniently accessible to employees throughout Glendale, including Downtown Glendale, Montrose, Verdugo Woodlands, Adams Hill, Glenoaks Canyon, and the surrounding Los Angeles County communities.

If you believe your employer violated your rights, call 626-365-1599 today to schedule a free consultation with an employment lawyer in Glendale.

Recent Review

“I’ve worked with Attorney Christa on several cases over the years. She’s very selective about her cases because she dedicates herself to each one wholeheartedly. Everything she does, she does with excellence and grace. Christa is the opposite of the lawyer stereotype; she’s selfless, listens, and I’ve never known her to forget a single detail or let anything slip.”

– Verified Google Review from Morgan R.

Workplace legal issues can affect every part of your life. A sudden termination, denied accommodation, hostile work environment, or retaliatory demotion can leave you dealing with financial uncertainty, emotional stress, damage to your career, and concern about what comes next.

Riggins Law represents employees only. We do not represent employers. This allows our law firm to remain focused on protecting workers who have been harmed by unlawful employment practices.

Attorney Christa Riggins has dedicated her practice to representing employees in cases involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, pregnancy discrimination, disability discrimination, medical leave violations, and related workplace claims. When you hire Riggins Law, you work directly with Christa. Your case is not handed off to an associate or paralegal. From the first consultation through litigation, settlement negotiations, or trial, Christa personally guides the case and keeps clients informed at every stage.

Employment Cases We Handle in Glendale

Employment law covers many different types of workplace misconduct. Some cases involve a clear termination after an employee reports illegal behavior. Others involve a pattern of mistreatment, denied promotions, hostile comments, sudden discipline, or an employer refusing to provide legally required accommodations.

Riggins Law helps Glendale employees with cases involving:

Age Discrimination

California law protects employees who are 40 or older from being treated unfairly because of their age. Age discrimination may occur when an older worker is pushed out, replaced by a younger employee, passed over for promotion, excluded from opportunities, or targeted through sudden negative performance reviews after years of satisfactory work.

If you were demoted, terminated, pressured to resign, or treated differently because of your age, a Glendale employment law attorney can help evaluate whether your employer’s conduct may violate California law.

Disability Discrimination

Employees with disabilities have the right to reasonable accommodations unless the accommodation would create an undue hardship for the employer. Reasonable accommodations may include modified schedules, medical leave, remote work, adjusted job duties, assistive equipment, or other changes that allow an employee to perform the essential functions of the job.

Unfortunately, some employers respond to accommodation requests by ignoring them, delaying the process, forcing the employee out, or terminating the employee instead of engaging in a good-faith interactive process.

If your employer refused to accommodate your disability, disciplined you for disability-related limitations, or fired you because of a medical condition, Riggins Law can help you understand your legal options.

Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination can occur when an employer treats an employee differently because she is pregnant, has a high-risk pregnancy, needs pregnancy-related accommodations, requests leave, or gives birth.

Examples may include cutting hours, denying modified duties, refusing temporary accommodations, excluding an employee from opportunities, pressuring the employee to leave, or terminating employment after learning about the pregnancy.

Riggins Law has significant experience representing employees in pregnancy discrimination matters. Christa Riggins obtained the #1 Pregnancy Discrimination Verdict in Los Angeles County in 2023, and the firm continues to advocate for employees whose employers failed to respect their rights during pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Race, National Origin, and Ethnicity Discrimination

No employee should be mistreated because of race, ethnicity, ancestry, birthplace, language, accent, immigration-related assumptions, or national origin. Discrimination may appear through offensive comments, unequal discipline, biased performance reviews, denied promotions, reduced hours, hostile treatment, or termination.

In Glendale’s diverse workforce, employees may face discrimination in offices, retail settings, restaurants, healthcare facilities, warehouses, professional practices, and corporate environments. If your employer treated you differently because of your race, ethnicity, or national origin, you may have a legal claim.

Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation Discrimination

California law protects employees from discrimination based on sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Employees should not be denied opportunities, harassed, misgendered, excluded, demoted, or fired because of who they are.

Sex and gender discrimination can affect employees in many ways, including unequal pay, different job assignments, biased discipline, pregnancy-related mistreatment, harassment, or termination after reporting inappropriate conduct.

Riggins Law represents employees who have experienced unlawful sex-based discrimination and helps them pursue accountability when employers fail to provide a fair and lawful workplace.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment can make a workplace feel unsafe, humiliating, and impossible to endure. It may involve unwanted touching, sexual comments, repeated requests for dates, suggestive messages, staring, leering, sexual jokes, explicit images, or pressure to accept sexual advances to keep a job or receive workplace benefits.

If you are being sexually harassed at work, it is important to document what happened, preserve messages or other evidence, and report the conduct when safe and appropriate. A Glendale employment law firm can help you understand how to protect yourself and your claim.

Medical Leave Violations

Employees may have rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the California Family Rights Act, California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, and other state and federal workplace protections. These laws may protect employees who need time away from work for their own serious health condition, pregnancy-related disability, childbirth, bonding with a new child, or caring for a qualifying family member.

Medical leave violations may occur when an employer:

• Denies protected leave
• Discourages an employee from taking leave
• Fails to reinstate an employee after leave
• Retaliates against an employee for requesting leave
• Terminates an employee while on protected leave
• Refuses to accommodate a disability after leave ends

Taking medical leave should not cost you your job. If your employer punished you for requesting or taking protected leave, Riggins Law can help evaluate your rights.

Wrongful Termination

California is an at-will employment state, but that does not mean an employer can fire an employee for an illegal reason. A termination may be wrongful when it is connected to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, protected medical leave, pregnancy, disability, or refusal to participate in unlawful conduct.

Examples of wrongful termination may include being fired shortly after reporting harassment, disclosing a pregnancy, requesting accommodations, complaining about wage violations, refusing to falsify records, or reporting unsafe or illegal workplace practices.

Some employees are not directly fired but are forced to resign because the work environment becomes intolerable. This may be considered constructive discharge in certain circumstances.

If you were terminated or pressured to quit, Riggins Law can review the facts and help determine whether your employer may have violated the law.

Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims

Employees have the right to report illegal conduct, discrimination, harassment, wage violations, safety concerns, fraud, or other unlawful workplace activity without being punished for speaking up.

Retaliation can take many forms, including:

• Termination
• Demotion
• Pay cuts
• Schedule changes
• Denial of training or resources
• Unfair discipline
• Hostile treatment
• Negative performance reviews
• Unwanted transfers
• Exclusion from meetings or opportunities

Whistleblower retaliation cases often require careful investigation because employers may try to disguise retaliation as a performance issue or business decision. Riggins Law helps employees identify the evidence needed to show that the employer’s actions were connected to protected activity.

Breach of Employment Contract and Severance Issues

Some employees have written contracts, offer letters, commission agreements, bonus agreements, equity arrangements, severance agreements, or other employment-related promises that employers must honor.

A breach of contract issue may arise when an employer refuses to pay compensation owed, terminates an employee without following contract terms, denies promised severance, withholds commissions, or violates other agreed-upon protections.

In some cases, the best path forward may involve negotiating a stronger severance package rather than immediately filing a lawsuit. Riggins Law can help employees review their rights, evaluate potential claims, and pursue fair compensation through negotiation or litigation when appropriate.

What Compensation May Be Available in an Employment Case?

Every case is different. The compensation available depends on the facts, the employer’s conduct, the harm suffered, and the legal claims involved.

Employees may be entitled to recover compensation for:

• Lost wages
• Lost benefits
• Future lost earnings
• Emotional distress
• Damage to career opportunities
• Attorney’s fees and costs
• Punitive damages in cases involving especially wrongful conduct

In some cases, employment claims may also lead to policy changes, workplace reforms, or other non-monetary terms designed to prevent similar harm from happening again.

Serving Employees in Glendale and the Greater Los Angeles Area

Glendale is home to a wide range of employees, businesses, professional offices, healthcare providers, retail centers, entertainment-related companies, restaurants, schools, and public-facing workplaces. From Downtown Glendale and The Americana at Brand to Glendale Galleria, Brand Boulevard, Central Avenue, San Fernando Road, Montrose, and the neighborhoods near Verdugo Park and Glenoaks Canyon, employees across the city deserve fair treatment under California law.

Whether you work for a small business, large corporation, public entity, healthcare employer, retail store, professional office, restaurant, or service company, your employer must follow the law. If your rights were violated, you do not have to handle the situation alone.

Speak With a Glendale Employment Attorney Today

If you were fired, harassed, discriminated against, retaliated against, denied medical leave, refused accommodations, or forced to work in a hostile environment, Riggins Law can help you understand your rights.

Call 626-365-1599 today to schedule a free consultation with an employment attorney in Glendale. Riggins Law is ready to help you take the next step toward protecting your rights, your career, and your future.