Wrongful Termination in California

If you feel you have been wrongfully terminated, contact the wrongful termination lawyers at Rastegar Law Group for a free and confidential case evaluation. We charge no fee until and unless we make a recovery for you.

What is Wrongful Termination?

Wrongful termination is the illegal firing of an employee. Typically, hiring and firing decisions are left up to employers, especially in “at-will” employment states like California. However, there are still many laws that govern what employers can and cannot do.

What is “At-Will” Employment?

California is an at-will employment state. This means that employers in the state can fire an employee for any legal reason or no reason. Despite this, employees cannot be fired for an unlawful reason. Employers do not have to give a reason for firing an at-will employee, but in many cases they choose to do so. In such cases the termination is known as a termination “for cause.”

Unlawful Reasons for Termination

Despite California being an at-will employment state, there are still many ways that employers may be found to have wrongfully terminated an employee. For instance, several federal and state laws prohibit discrimination of protected classes, such as discrimination based on gender, race, disability, ethnicity, age, religion, or sexual orientation.

You also may have a wrongful termination case if your employer broke the terms of an employment contract or their own employment policies, if there was differential treatment, or if your termination was a form of retaliation against you.

Examples of Wrongful Termination Lawsuits

There are several types of wrongful termination lawsuits. A few common types include:

• Breach of contract
• Differential treatment
• Employee discrimination or workplace harassment
• Forcing an employee to leave the position
• Fraudulent employer behavior
• Ignoring protected leave
• Improper accommodations for disabilities
• Retaliation
• Violation of public policy

The Statute of Limitations on Wrongful Termination in California

In the state of California, the statute of limitations on wrongful termination depends on what employment laws were violated and how the claim is to be filed.

If filing a claim through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employees have 180 days from the date of their termination. If filing a claim with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), employees have 300 days to file a claim. If the EEOC or DFEH doesn’t resolve the charge, the employee then has 90 days to file suit.

California Wrongful Termination Claims Based on Discrimination

In the state of California, employees also can file a wrongful termination claim under the Fair Housing and Employment Act (FEHA). Under FEHA, the employee has an entire year to file a wrongful termination claim based on discrimination.

If FEHA doesn’t resolve the case, they will then issue the employee a notice of right to sue. The employee than has one calendar year to file a suit in court.

Wrongful Termination Based on Breach of Written or Implied Contract

When there is a written employment contract in place and the termination in question violates one of the provisions in that employment contract, an employee has four years to file a wrongful termination lawsuit.

If the contract is implied, based on actions or behavior of the employer and employee, than there is a two year window to file a wrongful termination suit.

Wrongful Termination Lawyers in Los Angeles, San Diego and California

If you feel you have been wrongfully terminated from your employment, it’s important to speak with a wrongful termination lawyer quickly for a case evaluation and to begin building your case.

The wrongful termination lawyers at Rastegar Law Group have been representing wrongfully terminated employees since 1991 and have a wealth of experience in these sort of cases. We also work on a contingency basis, meaning we charge no fee until and unless we make a recovery for you.

Contact our wrongful termination attorneys today for a free case evaluation.