A Quick Guide to Wrongful Termination in California

1. Discrimination: fired because of who you are (FEHA, Gov. Code § 12940)

FEHA makes it unlawful to terminate an employee because of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 and over), sexual orientation, or military or veteran status. California’s list is broader than federal Title VII and covers employers with five or more employees. If a termination decision was even partly motivated by one of these characteristics, it can support a wrongful termination claim.

A frequent employer defense is that the worker was terminated for a performance or business reason unrelated to any protected characteristic. Under FEHA, discriminatory motive need not be the only reason for the firing; it must be a substantial motivating factor.

2. Whistleblower retaliation: fired for reporting employer misconduct (Lab. Code § 1102.5)

Labor Code § 1102.5 is California’s principal whistleblower retaliation statute. It shields employees who report suspected violations of law to a government agency or internally to a supervisor or compliance officer. The protection applies even if the employer later claims the reported conduct was not actually illegal, as long as the employee had a reasonable belief that a violation occurred. A civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation may also be available under § 1102.5 in addition to other damages. (Confirm the current penalty amount against the live leginfo text before relying on this figure.)

3. Wage-claim retaliation: fired for complaining about unpaid wages (Lab. Code § 98.6)

Labor Code § 98.6 prohibits employers from terminating employees who file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner, participate in a Labor Commissioner investigation, or testify in any wage and hour proceeding. A common pattern: an employee asks in writing about unpaid overtime or missed meal break premiums, and the employer terminates them within weeks. The timing and sequence of events are often the central evidence in these cases.

4. Workplace safety retaliation: fired for a Cal/OSHA complaint (Lab. Code § 6310)

Labor Code § 6310 protects employees who report unsafe working conditions or participate in occupational health and safety advocacy, including filing complaints with Cal/OSHA. Terminating an employee because they flagged a hazardous condition is a distinct statutory violation, separate from and in addition to any FEHA claim.

5. Violation of public policy: the Tameny exception

California’s Tameny public-policy doctrine makes it actionable in tort when an employer fires a worker for refusing to commit an illegal act, for exercising a statutory right such as filing a workers’ compensation claim, or for performing a statutory duty such as jury service. Because this is a common-law tort claim rather than a statutory one, it can reach situations not covered by FEHA or the Labor Code statutes above. Consult an attorney regarding the applicable statute of limitations, as the verified sources in our research do not confirm a specific figure.

Illustrative example: A warehouse employee tells her supervisor she cannot falsify shipping records as instructed because doing so would violate federal regulations. She is fired two days later. The employer characterizes the termination as a “business decision.” Under the Tameny doctrine, the employee may pursue a tort claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy regardless of her at-will status.

6. Implied contract: when your employer’s own words bound them

Even without a signed employment agreement, an implied contract can arise from an employee handbook, written progressive-discipline policy, oral assurances of job security, or a consistent practice of terminating only for cause. When those representations create a reasonable expectation that the employee will not be fired without good reason, terminating that employee without following the promised process can be actionable. Many employees are surprised to learn that a question explored in detail in our guide on whether you can be fired without a written warning often turns on exactly this analysis.

A note on constructive discharge: when quitting counts as being fired

Constructive discharge is not a standalone claim; it is a theory that layers on top of any of the six situations above. If an employer deliberately made working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable employee in the same position would have felt compelled to resign, California law treats that resignation as a termination. Intolerable conditions can include severe harassment, abrupt demotion designed to humiliate, isolation from work duties, or threats. The key word is “deliberately”: the employee must show the employer intended to force the resignation.