Wrongful Termination Lawyer in San Diego, California
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California Is an At-Will State, but "At-Will" Has Clear Legal Limits
California allows employers to end employment for any reason or no reason, but not for an illegal reason. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), enforced by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), prohibits termination based on race, sex, disability, age, and other protected characteristics. Separate Labor Code provisions protect employees who report legal violations, file wage complaints, serve on a jury, or engage in political activity. If your termination touches any of these categories, you have concrete legal rights in California, and strict deadlines apply.
What FEHA Protects: The Full List of Covered Characteristics
Under FEHA, an employer cannot fire you because of any of the following characteristics:
- Race, color, or ancestry
- National origin
- Religion
- Sex, including gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation
- Marital status
- Pregnancy
- Disability, including medical condition and genetic information
- Age (40 or older)
- Military or veteran status
One detail many employees in San Diego do not know: FEHA protections apply regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The CRD does not inquire about citizenship when a complaint is filed, meaning undocumented workers and visa holders have the same right to file as any other California employee.
When Termination Is Wrongful: The Main Legal Theories in California
Wrongful termination is not a single cause of action. Several distinct statutes can apply depending on the facts of your situation. For a broader overview of how these theories interact under California law, see our quick guide to wrongful termination in California.
Legal Theory | Governing Statute | What It Prohibits | Illustrative Scenario
|
|---|---|---|---|
Discrimination | Gov. Code § 12940 (FEHA) | Firing an employee because of a protected characteristic such as race, age, disability, or pregnancy | An employee discloses a cancer diagnosis and is terminated two weeks later with no prior performance issues |
Whistleblower Retaliation | Firing an employee for disclosing or reporting a reasonably believed violation of state or federal law to a government agency or internal supervisor | A warehouse worker reports unsafe equipment to a supervisor; management terminates the worker the following month | |
Wage Complaint Retaliation | Firing an employee for filing a wage complaint or asserting rights protected under the Labor Code | An employee submits a complaint about unpaid overtime and is let go within weeks of the filing | |
Jury Duty Retaliation | Firing an employee for serving on a jury | An employee returns from three weeks of jury service and is told the position has been filled | |
Political Activity | Employer rules or terminations that prevent employees from holding public office or engaging in political activity | A manager is fired after the employer learns of the employee’s public support for a local ballot measure |
The scenarios above are illustrative examples only. The statutory text of each provision controls in any actual dispute.
How a Wrongful Termination Lawyer Evaluates Your Claim
When a wrongful termination lawyer in San Diego reviews a potential case, the evaluation follows a structured checklist. Each item below corresponds to a legal threshold the claim must clear:
- Protected status or activity: Did the termination involve a characteristic or action covered by FEHA or a Labor Code provision listed above?
- Employer knowledge: Did the employer know about the protected characteristic or protected activity before terminating the employee?
- Adverse employment action: Was the employee actually fired, demoted, or constructively discharged (forced out through intolerable conditions)?
- Temporal proximity or direct evidence: Is there a close timeline between the protected activity and the termination, or direct statements linking the two?
- Pretext indicators: Does the employer’s stated reason for termination hold up, or does the record contradict it? Common red flags include inconsistent explanations, sudden negative performance reviews after years of positive ones, or selective enforcement of workplace policies.
- Documentation: Does the employee have emails, text messages, performance reviews, pay stubs, or other records that support the timeline?
- Covered employer: For FEHA claims, the employer generally must have five or more employees. Labor Code protections such as § 1102.5 and § 98.6 apply more broadly.
- Filing deadlines: Are the CRD filing window and post-Right-to-Sue window still open?
A frequent employer defense is that the position was eliminated or that the termination was part of a reduction in force. Under California law, the burden shifts to the employer once a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case of discrimination. Claimed business justifications that are inconsistent with the timing or treatment of similarly situated employees are often a strong indicator of pretext. For workers over 40 facing layoffs, our age discrimination lawyer in San Diego resource addresses how FEHA applies specifically to that context.
California's Deadlines for a Wrongful Termination Claim
Missing a deadline in a California wrongful termination case does not delay your rights. It extinguishes them entirely. The FEHA pathway involves three sequential steps, each with its own clock.
The FEHA Administrative Pathway: Three Steps, Three Deadlines
Step | Action Required | Deadline | Key Authority
|
|---|---|---|---|
1 | File a complaint with the CRD | Within 3 years of the discriminatory act | CRD (calcivilrights.ca.gov) |
2 | Obtain a Right-to-Sue notice from the CRD | Required before any civil lawsuit; once issued, CRD stops investigating | CRD Right-to-Sue Instructions (January 2025) |
3 | File the civil lawsuit in court | Within 1 year of the Right-to-Sue notice date |
These steps are sequential, not parallel. A San Diego employee who waits two and a half years to file with the CRD, then requests a Right-to-Sue notice, then waits the full year after receiving it has used essentially four years from the date of termination. Any step that is delayed compresses the remaining window.
Special Rules: Group and Class Complaints and Federal Tolling
For complaints that the CRD treats as group or class matters, Government Code § 12965 requires the CRD to issue a Right-to-Sue notice no later than two years after the complaint is filed. Where federal deadlines are also running concurrently, the deadline to file a civil action is the later of the federal right-to-sue period or the one-year window under § 12965. Employees with overlapping federal claims should confirm the specific federal timeline with an attorney, as those figures were not confirmed from a primary federal source for this article.
Why San Diego Employees Should Not Wait
The three-year CRD window and the one-year post-Right-to-Sue window run in sequence. Evidence also deteriorates quickly: witnesses leave, emails are deleted on employer retention schedules, and surveillance footage is overwritten. If you were recently fired and believe the reason was illegal, contacting an attorney sooner preserves options that waiting will close permanently. For a statewide perspective on how these timelines interact with other California claims, the California Wrongful Termination Lawyer guide provides additional context.
What Wrongful Termination Victims Can Pursue in California
California law provides several categories of relief for employees whose terminations violated FEHA or the Labor Code. The following types of recovery are available under these statutes, though specific amounts depend on the facts of each case:
- Lost wages and benefits: Back pay from the date of termination through resolution, plus the value of lost benefits such as health insurance and retirement contributions
- Front pay: Compensation for future lost earnings where reinstatement is not a practical remedy
- Emotional distress damages: Compensation for psychological harm caused by the unlawful termination, available under FEHA discrimination claims
- Punitive damages: Available under FEHA in cases of malice, oppression, or fraud
- Attorney’s fees and costs: FEHA permits a prevailing plaintiff to recover reasonable attorney’s fees, which is significant because it allows employees to pursue claims without paying fees out of pocket
- Reinstatement: In some cases, a court may order an employer to restore the employee’s position
The CRD enforces FEHA and may itself pursue relief on a complainant’s behalf during the administrative phase, before any civil lawsuit is filed.
What This Means If You Were Just Fired in San Diego
If you were recently terminated and something about the timing or the stated reason does not add up, the most important thing to do right now is document everything: write down what was said, collect any emails or text messages related to your performance or the termination, and note the names of any witnesses. Do not sign any severance agreement before speaking with an attorney, because those agreements often include releases of the exact claims described in this article. The three-year CRD window sounds long, but evidence disappears fast, and employers and their attorneys begin building a defense immediately. Workers over 40, workers who recently filed a wage complaint, and workers who reported a legal violation to management are in particularly high-risk categories where retaliation patterns are well documented. A consultation with an employment attorney is the fastest way to know whether the clock has started and which statute is most likely to apply to your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does at-will employment mean my employer can fire me for any reason?
No. California’s at-will rule allows termination for any reason, but not for an illegal reason. FEHA and multiple Labor Code sections carve out firm exceptions. If your termination involved a protected characteristic or protected activity, at-will status does not shield the employer from liability.
What if I do not know exactly why I was fired?
Most employers do not state an illegal motive directly. An attorney evaluates circumstantial evidence: the timing of the termination relative to a protected event, sudden changes in treatment, inconsistent explanations, and the employer’s documented conduct toward similarly situated employees who did not engage in the protected activity.
Does FEHA apply to small businesses?
FEHA generally requires an employer to have five or more employees for most discrimination claims. Some Labor Code protections, including those under § 1102.5 and § 98.6, apply more broadly and are not limited by employer size in the same way.
What if I am not a U.S. citizen or am undocumented?
FEHA protections apply regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The CRD does not inquire about immigration status when a complaint is filed.
Can I file with the CRD and still sue in court?
Yes, but in a specific sequence. You must first file with the CRD and obtain a Right-to-Sue notice before filing a civil lawsuit. Once the CRD issues that notice, you have one year to file in court, and the CRD will no longer investigate the complaint on your behalf.
Does Setareh Law Group handle personal injury matters in addition to employment claims?
Yes. If you have a separate personal injury matter arising from a workplace incident or otherwise, you can learn more from our San Diego personal injury lawyer page.
Contact Setareh Law Group: If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated in San Diego, our employment law attorneys are available to evaluate your situation. Contact Setareh Law Group today to schedule a consultation and learn what options may be available to you. We do not charge consultation fees, and we handle employment cases on a contingency basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
Contact us today:
📞 Phone: 310-888-7771
✉️ Email: help@setarehlaw.com
🌐 Address: 420 N Camden Dr, Beverly Hills CA, 90210
Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about California employment law and is provided for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Setareh Law Group. Laws change, and individual circumstances vary. Do not rely on this article as a substitute for advice from a licensed California attorney regarding your specific situation.
Sources and Additional Resources
Authoritative sources cited
- California Civil Rights Department (CRD)
- Gov. Code § 12940
- Labor Code § 1102.5
- Labor Code § 98.6
- Labor Code § 230(a)
- Labor Code § 1101
- Gov. Code § 12965
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