Losing your job can be stressful and confusing, especially when the termination seems unfair or comes shortly after you complained about something at work. Although California generally follows the rule of at-will employment, an employer does not have the right to fire an employee for an unlawful reason.
Was My Termination Illegal?
A termination may be unlawful when an employee is fired because of a legally protected characteristic or because the employee exercised a protected workplace right.
Examples can include termination because of race, color, sex, gender, pregnancy, age (40 or older), disability, medical condition, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, or another characteristic protected by law.
A termination may also be unlawful when it is retaliation for protected activity, such as reporting discrimination or harassment, requesting a reasonable accommodation, requesting or taking protected leave, reporting a workplace injury, complaining about unpaid wages, or reporting conduct the employee reasonably believes violates the law.
California Is an At-Will Employment State — But There Are Important Exceptions
At-will employment gives employers broad discretion to end an employment relationship, but it does not authorize termination for an unlawful reason. An employer cannot rely on at-will employment as a justification for firing someone because of pregnancy, disability, protected complaints, protected leave, or another legally protected reason.
Pay Attention to the Timing
Timing can matter. An employee may work for years without significant problems and then suddenly receive discipline or be terminated shortly after reporting harassment, requesting leave, disclosing a disability, asking for an accommodation, reporting a workplace injury, or raising concerns about pay or illegal conduct.
Timing by itself does not prove a claim, but it can be an important part of the overall evidence.
The Employer’s Stated Reason May Not Be the Real Reason
Employers often identify a facially legitimate reason for termination, such as performance, attendance, misconduct, restructuring, or a reduction in force. Sometimes that explanation is legitimate. In other cases, the stated reason may be a pretext.
Evidence worth preserving can include positive reviews, sudden criticism after years of satisfactory work, inconsistent explanations, different treatment of comparable employees, failure to follow normal procedures, suspicious timing, or emails and messages that contradict the stated reason.
What Should I Do After Being Fired?
Preserve termination documents, performance reviews, warnings, emails, text messages, HR communications, leave or accommodation requests, medical restrictions provided to the employer, paystubs, policies, and the names of potential witnesses. It is also useful to prepare a timeline while events are fresh in your memory.
Unfair Does Not Always Mean Illegal
California employment law does not prohibit every unfair decision. A termination generally becomes legally actionable when it is connected to a prohibited reason, such as discrimination, retaliation, protected leave, whistleblowing, wage complaints, or another protected right.
Speak With a California Employment Lawyer
Wrongful termination cases often turn on the employer’s true motivation, timing, comparative treatment, and whether the employer’s explanation is supported by the evidence.
North Law represents California employees in wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, harassment, disability, leave, and wage-and-hour matters. If you believe you were fired for an unlawful reason, contact North Law for a free confidential consultation.