Is California an At-Will Employment State?

In California, the relationship of employer and employee is generally “at will.” At-will means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any legal reason without incurring legal liability. However, while California’s at-will employment state it is still against the law to terminate an employee for an illegal reason.

California is an “at-will” state in terms of employment law. At-will means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability. The exception is that an employer cannot terminate an employee for a reason prohibited by law.

Workers can leave their positions anytime, and employers can terminate them anytime. Even more importantly, employers and employees do not need a reason to either fire someone or leave their jobs.

For-cause employment is different from at-will employment. When employment is for-cause, the company must provide a legitimate reason for termination. For example, if the worker does not perform their job duties in California, this lack of performance is good cause enough to terminate them.

Is “At-Will” Employment an Excuse for Unlawful Termination?

California businesses cannot violate anti-discrimination laws. They also cannot retaliate against workers who exercise their legal rights.

When employers in California terminate workers for reasons related to discrimination, for asserting legal rights, or the company breaks its employment contract with the employee. The worker may be able to pursue a wrongful termination claim.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act help to illustrate situations in which an employer terminated a worker wrongfully. These include firing an employee based on their:

Criminal history
Age (over 40)
Ethnicity
Medical condition
Military or veteran status
Origin
Gender or sex
Pregnancy
Race
Religion
Sexual orientation
Transgender identification
Political identification

Additionally, it is illegal for employers to terminate workers for their retaliatory behavior concerning:

Constructive termination
Workplace safety and health complaints
Unpaid wages and overtime
Violations of the Labor Code
Reports by healthcare workers regarding patient safety concerns
OSHA
Hostile work environments

Suppose a California business terminates a worker based on the above conditions. In that case, the worker should contact a skilled attorney for help with their illegal termination case as soon as possible.

What Qualifies as Wrongful Termination in California?

In California, illegal termination occurs when an employer terminates an employee’s employment but in such a way that the firing violates the worker’s legal rights.

How do employees know whether they were fired for illegal reasons or if their firing was justified? Here are three main categories that typically imply wrongful termination:

The employee is fired for discriminatory reasons
The employee is terminated in direct violation of their employment contract
The employee is fired for exercising their legal rights

When a worker is illegally fired from their job, the employer violates their contract with the employee, or the company fires the employee because of discrimination, the worker has a strong claim for illegal termination against the business. In this case, the employee should take legal action.

Some individuals think that because California is an at-will state, employees cannot sue for wrongful termination, but this is an errant belief. While both employers and employees have the freedom to terminate their contracts “at-will,” at any time, and for any reason, this freedom does not allow employers to fire employees for unlawful reasons.

In California, federal and state laws prevent businesses from firing workers for numerous reasons. Terminating an employee for illegal reasons is cited as wrongful termination by the California courts and according to the state’s termination laws.

What Federal and State Laws Apply to Wrongful Termination?

The laws that forbid anti-discrimination laws are numerous in the US and California and include:

The California Family Rights Act
The Equal Pay Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act
Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Family Act

When workers need help with their wrongful termination claims, they often consult with the following:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)

What is the Protected Class Category?

US federal law stipulates that employers cannot terminate workers for reasons associated with the following protected classes:

Disability (mental and physical
Sex (gender identity, orientation)
Pregnancy
Age (over 40)
Race
Origin
Religion
Political affiliation

Federal law provides the minimum protections required of businesses, but more protections come at the state level. California’s example legislature features some of the most protective laws for workers in the US.

Although California is an at will state, employer cannot fire their employees for the following reasons:

Origin
Religion
Military or veteran status
Disability, mental and physical
Sex or gender
Pregnancy
Genetic information
Sexual orientation
Gender identity or expression
Medical conditions
Age (over 40)
Race or color
Marital status

What Counts as Retaliation in California?

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes it unlawful for businesses to:

Discriminate against workers
Retaliate against workers after they have claimed their lawful rights

However, despite the presence of the FEHA, employers in California and throughout the country still retaliate against employees. Therefore, employees need to be able to recognize the act of retaliation, which comes in many iterations. Here are the most common examples of employer retaliation.

Employers retaliate against workers because they:

Complain about unpaid wages or a lack of overtime
File OSHA complaints
File a workplace health or safety complaint
Report safety concerns, for example, with healthcare workers
Report illegal activities at the workplace
Claim workers’ comp
Report Labor Code violations, for example, a lack of rest or meal breaks

Can Employees take Protected Time Off in California?

Under California’s Family Rights Act (CFRA), businesses with 50 or more workers must provide eligible workers with up to 12 weeks of protected leave over a year for these reasons:

Childbirth
A serious health condition of the worker’s spouse, child, or parent
Adoption or foster care placement
The worker’s serious medical condition

California also offers men paternity leave, so contact an experienced attorney in the state if this is a concern.

Can Workers Get Sick Leave in California?

The state’s Healthy Workplace, Healthy Family Act allows employees who are eligible to use paid sick leave for these intentions:

When a worker is a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, or similar crimes and must get medical or social services

When a worker needs preventative care, or someone in their family is covered and needs medical care.

When the worker or family member needs time for care, diagnosis, or treatment of a medical condition

In California, workers can collect and use up to three days’ paid sick leave annually. However, the employee’s total accrual of sick time per year—including carrying over unused time—cannot surpass six days of sick leave.

What Are Some Examples of Wrongful Termination in California?

Similar to all states, not every termination case in California is easy to identify. Some cases initiate claims of both illegal termination and lawful termination.

When an argument presents itself for lawful and unlawful termination, it is called a “mixed-motive” termination.

When workers resign before being terminated because the workplace is hostile or intolerable, this is called “constructive discharge.”

Workers in both situations may be able to claim illegal termination. Let’s provide a little more detail regarding both of these unique cases.

What is Mixed Motive Termination?

Mixed-motive termination occurs when a company has multiple reasons for terminating a worker, including:

Illegal motives
Legal motives

When the illegal reason is deemed a significant factor, the termination is illegal. Therefore, if the employer’s motivation is wrongful, the worker has a valid claim for wrongful termination.

Even if the employer’s decision only partly reflected illegal reasoning, the worker may be able to claim illegal termination. But, first, the employee and their attorney must prove that discrimination motivated the employer’s actions.

On the other hand, the employer must prove that they were motivated by legitimate, legal reasons to fire the person. The worker cannot collect damages if the company proves that the decision rested on legal motivations.

If the plaintiff wins in a mixed-motive case, they can be entitled to back pay, reinstatement, or other damages, including legal fees.

In California, the court views these cases as a chance to show.

What is Constructive Discharge?

In California, constructive discharge occurs when an employer makes the workplace hostile or intolerable on purpose to force a worker to leave.

For example, suppose an employer moves an employee’s seating assignment to an extremely hot and noisy room, where they sometimes have trouble working, hearing, and even breathing. In that case, this could be an example of constructive discharge.

California law protects workers from harsh working conditions that make working normally impossible. On the other hand, employees are not protected from stress. Therefore, working conditions that are deemed hostile must be extreme in nature. If most sensible employees would resign, the conditions are probably hostile.

If an employer filled the workplace with a vile, putrid stench, most workers would eventually resign after feeling ill all day.

Proving constructive discharge occurred can be challenging. The employee must establish that:

Working conditions are hostile and intolerable to the point that no one would stay employed

The company meant to force the worker out or was aware of the hostile conditions but did nothing to rectify them

Since constructively terminated workers can make wrongful termination claims, they should contact an experienced employment attorney when the discharge occurs.

What Happens When Individuals Are Fired in California?

Whether it is sudden or anticipated, being terminated is both frightening and anxiety-provoking. Many individuals are not sure what to do first and are worried about their families or loved ones, in addition to being stressed about finding a new job.

However, there are a few things California employees can do after being terminated that will help them defend their rights and move forward productively.

Should Employees Collect Information?

Right after being terminated, individuals should collect evidence and information. Employees should do this even if they are unsure whether their firing was illegal. Having proof will make the entire legal process easier, and evidence is what effectively supports wrongful termination claims.

If the worker isn’t sure if their employer violated their rights, it still makes sense to collect evidence. Sometimes the reality of the case becomes clearer after a few days, especially as the emotion lifts.

Useful items to collect or copy include:

Documents
Text messages
Emails
Other messages
Photos
Files

It is also helpful to speak with other employees and colleagues that may serve as witnesses. For example, if a coworker witnessed illegal behavior by the employer resulting in termination, they could help the case immensely.

Should Employees Ask Why They Were Fired?

There is nothing wrong with an employee asking why they were fired. Details are important in these cases, and though these conversations can be difficult, the worker has a right to the information. Workers should try to find out the following:

Who decided to terminate them
What are the specific reasons for the termination? Were

Workers can also ask to view their personnel files and should be sure to record their version of the events that led to the termination.

All of this information can prove helpful if the case goes to trial, and it is a necessary part of filing a claim or a lawsuit, so do not skip this step.

One of the most important factors in determining if a termination was illegal is determining if the employee’s status was “at-will.”

How Long Do Wrongful Termination Cases Take?

While employees often wonder how long the case will take, the duration of wrongful termination cases is difficult to envision. Each case of a possible illegal firing involves many different factors, and each situation is different and open to subjective interpretations.

Additionally, the case length depends on whether the worker filed the claim with the federal government or the state of California.

Federal Law Discrimination

When workers are discriminated against based on a protected characteristic such as origin or religion and seek to file a lawsuit with the federal government, there is something they must do first: the employee must first file a claim with the EEOC.

We recommend that the employee file the claim quickly, as strict time limits exist. Typically, individuals have 180 days to file a claim.

After filing the claim, a Notice of the Right to Sue will be issued, and the suit must be filed within 90 days. Filing the lawsuit within the appropriate timelines is vital because if the employee misses the deadline, that omission may stop them from moving forward with the case.

State of California Employment Discrimination

California workers can choose between filing with the state through the DFEH or filing with a state court.

For the complaint to continue to court, it must be filed with the DFEH first to ensure receipt of the Right to Sue Notice.

When workers decide to claim employment discrimination in a California court, they should be aware that:

The DFEH does not file the complaint with the EEOC
Once receiving the Right to Sue Notice, employees have a year to file suit
DFEH does not investigate the complaint
The employee should retain a lawyer for this process

How Are Damages Calculated in a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit?

Since losing one’s job can be emotionally and financially difficult, employees who believe they were wrongfully fired rely on collecting damages.

When employees successfully prove that their firings were unlawful, they are sometimes able to collect damages in various forms, including:

Punitive damages
Legal fees
Reinstatement of the employment position
Compensatory damages

Settling Outside of Court

Many cases of illegal termination settle without going to court. On the other hand, some businesses prefer to wait to see if the worker will go through with the lawsuit.

For employees, settling outside court typically means less compensation, but lawyer fees and other case costs will be lower.

Attorney and court fees will reduce the amount of any settlement that the employee will see.

When a settlement is reached, it depends on several factors, including:

How much income the worker lost
The value of the worker’s lost benefits
The level of non-financial damages

Many employees wonder how much their claim may provide when considering a lawsuit. Although this is a normal question, there are multiple factors at play. First, the damages in each case depend upon the legality of the case and the nature of the illegal termination.

Damages may include:

Lost pay
Emotional damages
Lost benefits
Legal fees
Punitive damages, if the case involved discrimination

While it is difficult to estimate the damages that may be awarded in a specific case, if the employee wins the lawsuit, they will receive damages in some form.

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