In June 2023, attorney Charles Wisch successfully closed out a wrongful termination referral he received from the SF-Marin LRIS in December 2020. Since 1995, Mr. Wisch has consistently been an LRIS member who has built an impressive reputation for delivering great outcomes for his clients. It was no wonder that with diligence, keen intuition and almost 50 years of practice, Mr. Wisch was able to settle this LRIS referral for $485,000.

The client’s case was the following. They were hired by a public office as a Senior IT Project Manager, and it was an opportunity that the client was thrilled to receive. A little more than two weeks after starting the position, the employer terminated the client alleging that they had made a false claim regarding their criminal history. The client knew that they had complied with the law in their employment application. Despite this the employer would not reconsider the decision to terminate.

Knowing that this outcome was unfair, the client reached out to the LRIS for a referral. They were referred to Mr. Wisch as a wrongful discharge case. Mr. Wisch accepted the referral and was able to quickly identify the employers mishandling of the dismissal. Not only had the employer applied an unlawful reason to terminate the client, but through discovery the attorney identified that they were aware that this decision was unlawful and willfully carried out this policy.

In this case, there was an expunged matter on the clients record and they followed the proper steps to earn a second chance at a fresh start. This meant they could exclude this previous incident on this application and not have it be a negative factor against them.

Early in Mr. Wisch’s career he represented management, but for nearly 30 years has represented individual workers legal issues. He was thoroughly aware of what each side was obligated to do in this event. Ultimately the employer accepted that they had a “policy” they knew was inconsistent with the law, which denied Mr. Wisch’s client this dream job.

Beyond achieving a favorable outcome for his client in this case, Mr. Wisch takes satisfaction in knowing that he’s been part of process that improves the workplace. He hopes to help employers follow rules and respect their employees. As part of his practice, alongside representing employees and being a member of LRIS, he continues to offer his services to companies, consulting with them on practices to take good care of their workers and to avoid circumstances that would lead to lawsuits.