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Practice area

Wrongful termination

Most jobs are at-will, but at-will has limits. If you were fired for who you are, for speaking up, for taking leave or for refusing to break the law, you may have a claim.

Overview

California employers can usually let people go for any reason or no reason. What they cannot do is fire you for an illegal reason. That includes firing you because of your race, age, disability, pregnancy or another protected trait, because you complained, because you took protected leave, or because you would not do something unlawful.

Employers rarely say the real reason out loud. So we look at the timeline, the paperwork and how other people were treated. A sudden bad review after years of good ones, or a firing a few weeks after a complaint, can tell a clear story.

Usually contingency: no upfront cost, and no fee unless we recover for you.

This may apply to you if

You were fired soon after you complained, asked for leave or asked for an accommodation
The reason you were given does not match your record or keeps changing
Others who did the same thing were not fired
You were replaced by someone much younger or of a different background
You were told to sign a release or severance agreement quickly

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One or two of these is enough to ask. Most people are not sure.

Illegal reasons to fire someone

At-will employment has exceptions. A firing may be unlawful if the real reason was one of these.

A protected trait such as race, sex, age 40+, disability or religion
Pregnancy or pregnancy leave
Complaining about discrimination or harassment
Reporting unpaid wages or unsafe conditions
Taking protected family or medical leave
Asking for a disability accommodation
Refusing to break the law
Serving on a jury or responding to a subpoena

How we handle it

Listen and map the timeline We build a dated timeline from your memory, emails, texts and reviews, so the real sequence is clear.
Check every law that may apply Discrimination, retaliation, leave laws, whistleblower rules and public policy claims. Often more than one fits.
Send a demand or file with the agency Many cases start with a letter to the employer. Some need an agency complaint first. We tell you which, and why.
Negotiate, mediate or litigate Most cases settle. Some do not. We prepare every case as if it will go to trial, so you are never bluffing.

What to save

Your termination letter or the text or email that told you
Performance reviews, praise and awards
Any complaint you made, and the reply
Names of coworkers who saw what happened
Pay stubs and your final paycheck

Keep copies of your own records. Do not take company files you are not allowed to have.

Deadlines

Several different deadlines can apply to a firing, and some agency windows are measured in months, not years. The clock usually starts on the day of the decision. Talk to a lawyer about your own dates soon.

We tell you your deadlines in writing after the free review, even if we do not take the case.

Example outcome Wrongful termination

Let go after a week of jury service

The situation: An office coordinator served on a jury for a week. On her return she was told her role had been 'restructured', and a new hire started the next month.
What we did: Her contract required arbitration. We presented the timeline and the replacement hire to the arbitrator.
How it ended: The arbitrator found in her favor but awarded less than we asked for, ruling she could have found new work sooner. A win, and a modest one.

Modest result

Example outcomes are illustrations written for this sample website, not real clients or cases. Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar result, and some cases do not succeed.

See all example outcomes

Questions people ask

I was at-will. Can I still have a case?

Yes. At-will means an employer does not need a good reason. It does not let them use an illegal one. Most of our termination cases involve at-will jobs.

They said it was a layoff. Does that end it?

Not always. Layoffs can be real, or they can be a cover. We look at who was picked, who stayed and who was hired afterward.

Talk to a lawyer about wrongful termination.

Tell us what happened in a few minutes. A lawyer reads every inquiry and you hear back within one business day, with your deadlines explained either way.

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