Can I Sue My Employer for Wrongful Termination in California?

An individual who believes that they have experienced illegal discrimination at work on the basis of their age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or national origin must first submit a claim to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

A person can submit their claim on the EEOC’s website, contact their main phone number for instructions, or visit a local EEOC office or a state Fair Employment Practices Agency (FEPA) office in the area where the employee resides. It is critical to act promptly, as rights can be lost due to the passage of time.

The EEOC conducts an investigation into the employer and its practices, which may lead the EEOC to file a complaint against the employer. Another result is possible in which the EEOC notifies the fired employee of their right to file their own complaint for wrongful termination in a court of law.

A person who believes that their employment was ended unlawfully for reasons that do not involve discrimination does not have to turn first to the EEOC with their complaint. They can proceed directly to the nearest civil court and file a lawsuit for wrongful termination in California.

What Is Wrongful Termination?

California is a state in which at-will employment is the law. This means that a person’s employer may terminate their employment at any time for any reason. An employer does not have to articulate a reason or justify the termination. So if a person is fired in California, they may well have no reason for complaint.

There are, however, exceptions. An individual may sue their former employer for wrongful termination or breach of contract if they were fired as follows:

• Breach of an Employment Contract: If an employee has a formal contract with their employer and their firing violates the terms of the contract, they would have a cause of action for breach of contract.
• Violation of Employer Policy: If an employer’s policies and/or past practices suggest terminations will only occur after warnings with opportunities to improve, then firing someone without these procedures could be wrongful termination.
  • For example, an employer may generally conduct performance reviews and offer employees performance improvement plans. If this is the case, then terminating employment without going through these steps might be something a person’s boss cannot legally do.
• Discrimination: If an employee was fired on the basis of the employee’s membership in a protected class, this could violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or other federal and California laws.
• Retaliation for Whistleblowing: Federal and state law protect people from retaliation for whistleblowing, so if a person is fired in retaliation, this could be wrongful termination in California.
• Violations of the California WARN Act: As explained below, the WARN Act requires employers to notify employees in certain circumstances and there are penalties for failure to follow the WARN Act.
  • Violations of other public policies, such as firing an employee for refusing to follow an order to do something that is illegal.

The California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) is a state law that requires covered employers to give both workers and local government officials a minimum of 60 days’ notice before one of the following takes place:

• Termination of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period
• Ceasing all business activities
• Relocating all of the operations of a business to a place that is 100 or more miles away from its existing location.

Employers who fail to provide the required notification must provide their laid-off employees with back pay and benefits for the period of the violation, which would equal the number of days by which their notice was less than 60 days.

Depending on your wrongful termination case, you may be able to get your old job back. You may also be entitled to collect money damages to compensate for lost earnings, emotional distress, and even punitive damages, which can be far larger than any wages that someone lost because they were fired.

How Do You Prove Wrongful Termination?

A person must produce evidence to prove wrongful termination or breach of contract in a court of law. So someone who is contemplating a lawsuit against their former employer wants to collect the evidence they need to prove their case. They would gather documentation that shows the terms and conditions of their employment. If they had a written contract, they would want to produce a copy of that, hopefully one with the signatures of the employer and the employee.

A fired employee wants to obtain a copy of their former company’s policies and procedures manual from the human relations department if there is one. Any kind of written communication about their employment in manuals, on websites, in emails or text messages would be helpful.

Of course all information about an individual’s performance on the job and how it was reviewed, assessed or evaluated would be critical to their case.

In addition to written material, a person would want to identify people, colleagues, superiors, friends and relatives who could testify about facts that are relevant to the case.

How Can You File a Complaint Against Your Employer in California?

An individual must first determine the proper court in which to file a breach of contract or wrongful termination lawsuit. A person can sue for up to $10,000 in a small claims court. Amounts in controversy greater than $25,000 are directed to the superior courts of “unlimited jurisdiction.” If a person seeks more than $10,000 but less than $25,000, they want to file their lawsuit in a superior court of “limited jurisdiction.”

After determining the court in which a person should file their complaint based on the amount of damages they seek, they would consider such other factors as the following:

• Prepare and File a Complaint: A person would file their complaint to the appropriate court. It can be filed online, by mail, or in person, depending on the court’s requirements. A filing fee has to be paid.
• Serve the Employer: They must then notify the employer of the lawsuit by serving them with a copy of the complaint and summons. This must be done by a third party, such as a professional process server, sheriff, or anyone over the age of 18 who is not involved in the case.
• File the Proof of Service: Proof of service must be filed with the court to show that the employer was properly served.
• Employer’s Response: The employer has 30 days to respond to the complaint.
• Discovery Process: Both parties then have the opportunity to seek and exchange information and evidence related to the case, which may include depositions, interrogatories, and requests for documents.
• Pre-Trial Motions: Both parties may file motions to resolve the entire case or specific issues involved in the case before trial.
• Trial: If the case is not settled before trial, then both parties present their evidence and arguments to a judge or jury for a final decision on the issues in the case.
• Judgment: If the fired employee wins their case, the court issues a judgment for them. They may then seek to collect their judgment from their former employer.
• Appeals: If the losing party believes that the judgment in favor of the other party has been made in error, they may appeal the court’s decision to a higher court.

A fired employee who sues for breach of contract and wins their case might be able to recover their attorney’s fees as part of the judgment. California law allows the winning party in a contract dispute to recover their attorney’s fees, if the contract specifically provides for it.

Can I Sue for Being Wrongfully Terminated?

A person whose employment has been terminated wrongfully can sue their former employer. They would have to prove one of the possible reasons noted above that makes the termination of their employment wrongful.

In addition, while California is an at-will employment state, an employer’s policies or past practices may suggest that terminations occur only after an employee has been given warnings and opportunities to improve.

For example, an employer may conduct performance reviews and offer employees performance improvement plans. If this is the case, then terminating employment without going through these steps may constitute wrongful termination under California unfair performance review law.

What Damages Can You Receive for a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit?

Depending on the facts of a person’s case and the cause of action they allege against their former employer, a person may be able to return to their former job.

They may also be entitled to collect money damages to compensate for lost earnings and possibly infliction of emotional distress. In the rare case in which an employer’s conduct was especially blameworthy, a victim might win punitive damages, which can be of far greater value than a person’s lost wages.

How Much Is a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Worth in California?

The amount of compensatory damages that a person may recover in a wrongful termination lawsuit depends on several factors. One factor is the measure of damages for the cause of action they allege.

For example, if a person sues for breach of contract, the measure of damages that can be awarded is different than the measure of damages that can be awarded in a lawsuit for wrongful termination, which is a type of personal injury.

In a personal injury case, a person can recover for the emotional distress they may have experienced as a direct result of their firing. Damages to compensate for emotional distress are not available in a lawsuit for breach of contract.

In addition, the amount of damages would depend on how much money an individual earned in their former job as the measure of damages in either case would be based in part on how much they earned and what other benefits they may have had.

If an individual is thinking seriously of suing their former employer for wrongful termination or breach of an employment contract, they need a lawyer consultation with a California lawyer and would want to ask them to explain how much they might recover.

Do I Need a California Lawyer To File a Wrongful Termination Claim?

If you think you have been fired wrongfully or in breach of your employment contract, you want to talk to a wrongful termination lawyer in California. Your lawyer will review the facts of your case and tell you whether you have a good reason for complaint. Your attorney can help you try to negotiate a resolution with your former employer and if that is not successful, help you put together a case for wrongful termination.