English 
Spanish You can sue for wrongful termination, but it’s not always easy. This is not something you want to handle on your own. Our wrongful termination attorneys can review the circumstances of your firing to determine whether you have an unlawful dismissal claim.
What Constitutes Wrongful Termination?
California is an “at-will” employment state, which means your employer can terminate you for almost any reason, so long as it doesn’t violate any laws. Wrongful termination includes firing for any of the following reasons:
- Retaliation: Your employer is not allowed to fire or demote you as a response to you reporting a wage, overtime, or rest break violation; reporting a safety issue, harassment, or discrimination; filing a workers’ compensation claim; or reporting misconduct.
- Your membership in a protected class: Your employer cannot fire you based on a discriminatory reason (e.g., your race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, or pregnancy.
- Whistle blowing: If you reported your employer or a coworker for illegal activity, both federal and state laws protect you from retaliatory termination.
- Using your time off: You are legally entitled to your paid time off, including sick days, time off for voting or jury duty, maternity leave, and time off protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This is protected time off and your employer cannot fire you for using this time.
- Your political affiliation: Your employer cannot terminate you based on your political affiliation and political activities outside the workplace. Political affiliation is also considered a protected class.
You can also sue if your employer violated the WARN Act (e.g., employers are required to give 60-day notice to employees if there will be a plant closing or mass layoffs) or breached a contract.
Our attorneys can help you determine whether you have a wrongful termination lawsuit.
What Can I Recover for Wrongful Termination?
If your employer unlawfully fired you, you may be able to recover compensation for:
Compensatory Damages
These include both economic and non-economic damages. You could recover:
- Back pay (wages you lost due to your wrongful termination)
- Front pay (lost earning capacity)
- Any lost benefits
- Out-of-pocket expenses related to your termination
- Legal fees
- Pain and suffering and emotional harm
Injunctive Relief
These are what the court orders to deter this behavior in the future. An example of injunctive relief is getting your job back.
Wrongful Termination Settlements and Awards We Have Obtained
Our team has dedicated our careers to fighting for employees who have suffered harassment, mistreatment, and unlawful termination. Some awards we have recovered include:
- $200,000 for a client who was harassed and wrongfully terminated
- $170,000 for a client who was wrongfully terminated after exercising rights protected by law
How Do I Prove Unlawful Termination?
To prove your employer fired you unlawfully, we need to prove that their reason for firing you was discriminatory or retaliatory.
Documentation is one of the most important parts of a wrongful termination claim, and you should file an HR claim to create a paper trail after your firing. You should also ask for your personnel file and forward yourself any emails, texts, or direct messages that would support your unlawful dismissal claim.
If you have copies of recent performance evaluations, we can use those as well. These can establish that you were not let go due to performance or another valid reason. If your coworkers were witness to interactions that could establish discrimination or harassment, be sure you get their contact information. We can interview them later.
Our lawyers will use your documentation to establish a robust wrongful termination case.
How to Protect Myself After a Wrongful Termination
There are a few steps you can take to protect yourself and your right to compensation after a wrongful firing:
- Stay calm. You are likely very upset, but disparaging your former boss or coworkers won’t look good for you. Ask why you are being terminated and then ask to speak with HR.
- Don’t post anything rude about your former company online.
- Get in touch with our employment law firm. We will protect you and your case.
How an Employment Law Attorney Can Help You Sue for Wrongful Termination?
Proving wrongful termination is not easy. That’s what our firm is here for. We can:
- Educate you on California’s wrongful termination and discrimination laws
- Determine whether you have a case
- Use your documentation and any evidence we gather to build a robust case
- Review your employment contract
- Determine whether you would be best served by filing a claim or lawsuit or joining a class action (if one exists)
- Establish a fair value for your case
- Manage deadlines in your case
- Protect you from doing or saying something that could jeopardize your case
We Can Help You Sue for Wrongful Termination
Our employment law attorneys are prepared to seek justice for you after a wrongful firing. Call KJT Law Group today for a free consultation with our team: (818) 507-8525.
