619-342-8000San Diego
Wrongful
Termination
Attorneys
Losing your job in one short meeting can leave you replaying every conversation that led up to it. When the reason you were given doesn’t add up, a San Diego wrongful termination lawyer can help you learn whether your employer crossed a legal line.
Maybe the firing came weeks after you reported harassment, asked for medical leave, or refused to do something you knew was wrong. Maybe a new manager decided you no longer “fit.” You’re now facing lost income, a gap on your résumé and questions you shouldn’t have to sort through alone.
At Haeggquist & Eck, we listen first. You can tell your story at your own pace, and we’ll explain in plain terms how California laws may protect you. Call (619) 342-8000 or contact us online for a free case evaluation. We’re available 24 hours a day.
Can Your Employer Fire You for No Reason in California?
In most cases, yes. Under California Labor Code section 2922, a job with no specified end date is presumed to be “at will.” Either you or your employer can end it at any time, with or without a stated reason.
What an employer can’t do is fire you for an illegal reason. The at-will label also gives way when your employer promised, in writing or through its conduct, that you would only be let go for good cause.
California courts look at the entire relationship to determine whether such a promise exists. Personnel policies, assurances from managers, and industry practices all count. Long service and strong reviews help, but on their own they don’t guarantee job security.
Which Firings Count as Wrongful Termination Under California Law?
Wrongful termination isn’t a single law. It’s a group of legal claims, each targeting a different kind of unlawful firing. Most San Diego cases fall into one or more of these categories.
Firing Based on Who You Are
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) bars employers with five or more employees from firing someone because of a protected characteristic, including:
- Race
- Religion
- National Origin
- Disability
- Medical Condition
- Gender Identity
- Sex (including pregnancy)
- Sexual Orientation
- Age 40 and Over
- Marital Status
- Veteran or Military Status
- Reproductive Health Decisions
Discrimination often shows up as a sudden “restructuring,” a performance plan that appears right after a pregnancy announcement, a younger replacement hired weeks after an older employee is let go, or similar action.
Firing for Speaking Up
Your employer can’t fire you for reporting harassment, complaining about unpaid wages, raising safety concerns, or disclosing suspected illegal conduct. When a termination follows closely behind a complaint like this, the timing alone deserves a careful look, and a retaliation claim often runs alongside the wrongful termination claim.
Firing That Violates Public Policy
California courts allow employees to sue when they’re fired for refusing to break the law, exercising a legal right or fulfilling a legal duty. The California Supreme Court recognized this claim in Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co., where a worker refused to join a price-fixing scheme.
Firing someone for serving on a jury or taking job-protected family or medical leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) can also support a claim.
Breaking an Employment Contract
A written contract for a fixed term, or one that allows termination only for good cause, limits your employer’s right to fire at will. An implied promise of job security can do the same. These claims generally recover lost wages and benefits rather than damages for emotional harm.
What If You Were Pushed Into Quitting?
California treats some resignations as firings. If your employer deliberately created, or knowingly allowed, working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would feel forced to resign, the law calls it constructive discharge.
The standard is demanding. One harsh review or an unfair schedule change usually isn’t enough. Courts look for conditions that were unusually aggravated or that continued over time, such as ongoing harassment a supervisor ignored or a string of demotions meant to push you out.
Constructive discharge also isn’t a claim on its own. It connects your resignation to another violation, such as discrimination, harassment or retaliation, so the underlying reason for the pressure matters.
How Long Do You Have to Sue for Wrongful Termination in California?
It depends on the legal theory behind your claim. California deadlines range from 300 days for a federal discrimination charge to four years for a written contract claim. Here are the deadlines San Diego workers run into most often:
| Type of Claim | Where the Claim Is Filed | Your Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| FEHA discrimination or retaliation complaint | California Civil Rights Department (CRD) | 3 years from the firing |
| FEHA lawsuit after a right-to-sue notice | San Diego Superior Court | 1 year from the date of the notice |
| Federal discrimination charge | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) | 300 days from the firing |
| Wrongful termination in violation of public policy | San Diego Superior Court | 2 years from the firing |
| Breach of an oral or implied contract | San Diego Superior Court | 2 years from the breach |
| Breach of a written contract | San Diego Superior Court | 4 years from the breach |
| Labor Code retaliation complaint | California Labor Commissioner | 1 year from the retaliatory act |
Several of these deadlines can run at the same time, and missing one can close off that path even while others stay open. Choosing one route can also affect another, which is why the order of filings matters.
A few deadlines can be extended. The CRD deadline can stretch up to 90 days if you first learned the key facts during that window, and a worker who was a minor gets up to one year after turning 18.
Other deadlines offer no extension at all. Our San Diego wrongful termination attorneys can review your case and determine which options are open to you. Taking legal action soon after your firing helps protect your rights.
- To do an illegal act
- Watch them commit an illegal act
Contact Haeggquist & Eck, LLP today to schedule a free case evaluation with a wrongful termination lawyer in San Diego who can help you understand your rights and options. Call us today for assistance at
How an Attorney Moves Your Claim Forward In San Diego
Most FEHA claims begin with the California Civil Rights Department. Your attorney decides whether to ask the agency to investigate or to request an immediate right-to-sue notice so the case can move straight to court, then prepares the complaint so it names every claim and every responsible employer.
The CRD has no San Diego office, and its closest location is in Riverside. Because the agency works mostly online and by phone, a local attorney who manages the filing and every follow-up keeps your claim from stalling.
Federal claims go to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whose San Diego Local Office on West C Street serves San Diego and Imperial counties. The CRD won’t forward an immediate right-to-sue request to the EEOC, so your attorney files with both agencies when federal claims need protection too.
A firing tied to a wage complaint, a safety report or another Labor Code right may also belong before the California Labor Commissioner, where the deadline is one year from the retaliatory act. Your attorney weighs that option against going directly to court and chooses the path that best protects your recovery.
If your case moves into litigation, downtown San Diego civil cases are handled at the Hall of Justice at 330 West Broadway, a short walk from our office at 225 Broadway.
- Lost wages and benefits
- Compensation for emotional distress and pain/suffering from loss of job
- Attorney fees
- Back pay wages
- Punitive damages for wrongdoing by employer
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Wrongful Firing?
A FEHA or public policy claim opens the door to more types of damages than a contract claim does. Depending on your case, your recovery may include:
| Type of Recovery | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Back pay | Wages and benefits you lost between the firing and a settlement or verdict |
| Front pay | Future lost earnings when returning to the job isn’t realistic |
| Emotional distress damages | Anxiety, humiliation, lost sleep and other harm the firing caused |
| Punitive damages | An added award meant to punish especially serious misconduct |
| Attorney’s fees and costs | Fees a court may order your employer to pay if you win a FEHA claim |
| Reinstatement | Returning to your position, when that’s what you want |
Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of oppression, fraud or malice under California Civil Code section 3294. For a company, an officer, director or managing agent must have been involved in or approved the conduct.
Lost wages or income are measured against what you earn after the firing. If you find comparable work, those new earnings usually reduce back pay, which is one reason your job search records become part of the case.
What Does Your Employer Owe You on Your Last Day?
When your employer fires you, California requires it to pay all final wages immediately. If it willfully pays late, it can owe you a penalty equal to your daily wage for up to 30 days.
Many employers also offer severance in exchange for signing a release of legal claims. Once you sign, that release is usually difficult to undo, so it’s worth having an employment lawyer review the agreement first.
How Haeggquest & Eck Stands Up With You
Haeggquist & Eck is a women-owned employment law firm founded in San Diego in 2008. Managing Partner Alreen Haeggquist, author of Fired Up: Fueling Triumph from Trauma, built the firm around a trauma-informed approach, and Amber Eck and our team share that commitment.
We take time to understand what happened before we talk strategy. Then we gather the records that tend to matter most, including performance reviews, emails, text messages, schedules and the timeline leading up to the firing. We tell you what we see, and you decide what happens next.
We represent individual workers, not large groups. Your claim gets the focused attention it deserves from the first conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. California’s at-will rule means a private employer generally doesn’t have to give advance notice or a reason before firing an employee. Exceptions include a contract or policy that promises notice or progressive discipline, and covered mass layoffs, which require 60 days’ notice under the California WARN Act.
Reinstatement is one remedy available under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and in Labor Commissioner retaliation cases. Many people don’t want to return to an employer that treated them unfairly, so front pay often takes its place when going back isn’t realistic.
A layoff can be wrongful termination in California if the employer used it to remove someone for an illegal reason. For example, a restructuring that falls mostly on older workers, pregnant employees or people who recently complained may point to discrimination or retaliation hidden behind a business explanation.
An employer claiming you were fired for poor performance does not invalidate your wrongful termination case if the true reason for your firing was unlawful. Once an employee presents facts suggesting an illegal motive, the employer must provide a legitimate reason, and the employee can then show that the reason is a pretext. Sudden negative reviews after years of positive ones often become important evidence.
Yes, California’s discrimination, retaliation, and public policy protections don’t require a minimum length of employment. A short tenure can affect certain rights, such as CFRA leave, which requires more than 12 months of service and 1,250 hours in the past year. It doesn’t bar a wrongful termination claim.
The value of a California wrongful termination claim is built mostly from economic loss and the strength of the evidence. The biggest drivers are your pay and benefits, how long it takes to find comparable work, the emotional toll of the firing, and whether the evidence supports punitive damages.
The California Civil Rights Department doesn’t require a lawyer, but the choices made at filing shape the entire case. An attorney decides whether to seek an investigation or an immediate right-to-sue notice, and tracks the one-year deadline to sue that starts with that notice.
Tell Us Your Story
You don’t have to carry this alone. If you believe you were fired for an unlawful reason, call Haeggquist & Eck at (619) 342-8000 or reach out online for a free case evaluation with a San Diego wrongful termination lawyer.
This page provides general information about California employment law and isn’t legal advice. Contacting Haeggquist & Eck doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship.
If you believe you were improperly removed from employment, contact a wrongful termination attorney in San Diego from Haeggquist & Eck, LLP today for help. Call us at (619) 342-8000 when you feel you need legal representation.
