Fired, offered severance, denied leave, or unpaid in California? Get a written employment-law case evaluation for a flat fee.

How California employment law actually works

California is one of the most protective states for employees, especially on discrimination, disability accommodation, protected leave, wage-hour, retaliation, and severance-release issues. Between the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (PDL), the Labor Code (which contains over 1,000 sections governing wage hour, leave, and workplace conduct), and the federal overlay of Title VII, ADA, FMLA, and FLSA, the rights structure is deep — and the remedies are substantial.

Many California employees lose leverage because they do not know which statutes apply, miss deadlines, fail to preserve documents, or sign severance agreements before understanding what claims they are releasing. The pre-litigation phase — case evaluation, demand letter, agency charge, severance negotiation — is where the claim is framed, documented, priced, and either positioned for resolution or prepared for litigation referral.

The five categories of California employment claim

1. Wrongful termination

At-will employment is the default, but California recognizes more than fifteen exceptions: FEHA discrimination, FEHA retaliation, public-policy violations (Tameny claims), implied contract, FMLA / CFRA / PDL interference, Labor Code section 1102.5 whistleblower protection, wage-hour retaliation, and others. The case-evaluation memo identifies which exceptions apply to your facts.

2. Discrimination, harassment, retaliation

FEHA prohibits employment decisions motivated by race, sex, age (40+), disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other protected categories. Harassment includes both quid pro quo (employment benefit conditioned on submission) and hostile environment (severe or pervasive conduct). Retaliation protects employees who report discrimination, request accommodation, or participate in investigations.

3. Wage and hour

California Labor Code provides for minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, accurate pay statements, timely payment, expense reimbursement, and final paycheck rules. Common violations: misclassifying employees as exempt, missed meal breaks, off-the-clock work, late final paychecks (which trigger waiting-time penalties up to 30 days' wages), and unreimbursed business expenses.

4. Leave and accommodation

FMLA, CFRA, PDL, ADA, and FEHA all govern protected leave and reasonable accommodation. A termination during or shortly after protected leave can create interference, retaliation, restoration, and accommodation issues, but the analysis still depends on eligibility, notice, leave designation, timing, and whether the employer can prove a leave-independent reason. Failure to engage in the interactive process for accommodation can be a separate FEHA violation. Defective leave notices can strengthen an interference theory, especially if the defect caused confusion, discipline, lost leave rights, or termination.

5. Severance and separation

Severance offers are often negotiable when the employee can identify claims the release would waive. The counteroffer should tie the requested increase to specific legal exposure (FEHA, CFRA/FMLA, wage-hour, retaliation, accommodation issues), not just a generic request for more money. Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) requires a 21-day consideration period (or 45 days for group separations), giving you time to get the agreement reviewed.

Why "pre-litigation" matters more than "litigation"

The economics of California employment law strongly favor pre-litigation resolution:

• Speed — pre-litigation resolution typically takes 30-90 days. Trial litigation takes 18-36 months.
• Cost — flat-fee pre-litigation packages run $575-$3,500. Contingency-fee litigation takes 33-40% of recovery.
• Recovery — pre-litigation work can clarify whether the matter should be resolved early, filed administratively, referred for litigation, or not escalated. The economics depend on damages, defenses, documents, attorney-fee exposure, arbitration, and collectability.
• Certainty — pre-litigation outcomes are negotiated, not adjudicated. The employee controls the decision; the trier of fact does not.

How a case actually flows

1. Case-evaluation memo — written assessment within 5 business days. Identifies claims, statutes, deadlines, recovery range, and recommended next step.
2. Demand letter — attorney letter to former employer citing the specific violations. This is the stage where the employer first sees a lawyer-framed claim, a damages number, and the risk of agency/litigation escalation.
3. CRD / EEOC charge — administrative filing required before lawsuit. Preserves right to sue and triggers agency mediation.
4. Severance negotiation — if employer offered severance or counter-offers severance after demand letter.
5. Litigation — referred to contingency plaintiff's firm if pre-litigation does not resolve. Filed as wrongful-termination, FEHA, or related causes of action in California Superior Court or federal district court.

The deadline calendar (read this first)

Every California employment claim has a deadline. Miss it and the claim is gone. Here are the major ones:

• EEOC charge (federal) — 300 days from termination or last adverse action. Required before federal lawsuit under Title VII, ADA, ADEA.
• CRD charge (formerly DFEH) (California FEHA) — 3 years from last adverse action. Required before FEHA lawsuit.
• FMLA private lawsuit — 2 years from violation (3 if willful).
• CFRA / FEHA-related leave claim — 3 years to submit CRD intake/complaint; lawsuit timing usually runs from the CRD right-to-sue notice.
• FLSA wage claim — 2 years (3 if willful).
• California Labor Code wage claim — 3 years for most provisions.
• California wrongful-termination tort (Tameny) — 2 years.
• Defamation (workplace) — 1 year.
• Unemployment denial appeal — 30 days from EDD denial.

Tolling, continuing-violation, and discovery-rule doctrines can extend these dates. The case-evaluation memo includes a fact-specific deadline calendar.