Employment in the state of California is considered “At-Will”, which generally means that an employee can be fired at the the discretion, or at the will, of their employer for any reason at all. Employees that have either not signed a contract with their employer or have worked for the company for less than five years are generally considered at-will.
Feeling secure in your job and your ability to provide for yourself and your family is essential to your well-being. If you’ve been terminated from your job, in some limited situations, you may have recourse against your employer. While the Doctrine of Employment at Will is generally accepted as valid in California, there are exceptions.
If a termination was based on your membership in a group protected from discrimination by law, it would not be legal. An employer may not discriminate or terminate a person because of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, or age, pursuant to the California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Examples of Wrongful Termination
Discrimination, harassment, and other unlawful reasons for termination include the following:
- Dismissal on the basis of race, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability or even mistaken perceptions of any of these
- Retaliation for asserting a protected right such as filing a sexual harassment complaint, taking family or medical leave, or applying for workers’ compensation benefits
- Getting fired for reporting illegal or unethical conduct on the part of a manager or supervisor in private or public employment
- Complaining about or supports a claim involving unlawful discrimination or harassment
- Complaining about unsafe working conditions or work practices to employers, or to a government agency such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Participating in proceedings before the California Labor Commissioner
- Serving on jury duty or testifying as a witness in court
- Participating in political activity, including holding public office
- Serving as an election officer on election day
- Exercising rights under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act
- Disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe there was a violation of law including issues related to the Sarbanes Oxley Act
- Refusing to patronize the employer in connection with the purchase of anything of value
Even if none of these circumstances applies to your case, you still might have a claim for unfair termination damages. If the evidence shows that you could reasonably rely on continued employment as long as you maintained a certain level of performance on the job, or if your periodic reviews indicated the employer’s intention to keep you in your former position. Constructive discharge can also represent an available remedy for employees who work under especially intolerable conditions.