Areas of Practice

Wrongful Termination

California is an at-will employment state, which means that employers – in general – can terminate their workers for any reason or for no reason at all. That being said, employers may not terminate employees for an unlawful reason. Some examples of wrongful termination include termination for:

  • Being a member of a protected class (which include race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, pregnancy, pumping breast milk or asking for an accommodation, religion, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, medical condition, political activities or affiliations, military or veteran status, citizenship status, etc.);

  • Opposing harassment or discrimination;

  • Filing a complaint about harassment or discrimination;

  • Testifying in an investigation or lawsuit;

  • Joining a union, or being involved in union activities;

  • Being involved in whistleblower activities;

  • Refusing to assist an employer in breaking the law;

  • Bringing a workers’ compensation case;

  • Taking leave; and

  • Making wage and hour complaints.

Discrimination

California protects employees and job applicants from discrimination because of a protected characteristic. It is illegal for an employee or job applicant to be discriminated against because of their race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status.

There are two general types of discrimination claims: disparate impact and disparate treatment claims. “Disparate treatment” is intentional discrimination against one or more persons on prohibited grounds; i.e., treating similarly situated individuals differently in their employment because of a protected characteristic. “Disparate impact” claims involve employment practices that are facially neutral in their treatment of different groups but that in fact fall more harshly on one group than another and cannot be justified by business necessity.

All California employers have a responsibility to treat their employees, and prospective employees, in a fair and ethical manner. This includes avoiding practices and policies that discriminate based on certain legally protected characteristics.

Harassment

Harassment is unlawful if based on one of the characteristics protected by federal or state anti-discrimination laws. Punishable actions under California harassment laws against workplace discrimination include:

  • Verbal harassment, such as epithets, derogatory comments or slurs, or inappropriate innuendos;

  • Physical harassment, such as unwanted touching, rubbing against someone, assault, or physical interference with someone’s movement or work; or

  • Visual harassment, such as derogatory cartoons, drawings, posters, or lewd gestures.

In California, "sexual harassment" can be understood as inappropriate conduct that is motivated by certain unlawful reasons, like sex or gender. California law prohibits both employers⁠ and employees⁠ from sexually harassing any worker, employee, applicant, volunteer, independent contractor, or unpaid intern.⁠

Sexual harassment is typically separated into two distinct categories: (1) hostile work environment, and (2) quid pro quo sexual harassment.

“Quid pro quo,” sexual harassment is where an employee's subjection to sexual conduct is linked to the grant or denial of job benefits, such as getting or retaining a job, or receiving a favorable performance review or promotion.

“Hostile environment” harassment is where the sexual conduct had the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

Sexual Harassment

Retaliation

Retaliation occurs when an employer or superior punishes an employee for engaging in a legally protected act. These protected acts can range from reporting a safety code violation to taking family leave. There are many protected acts recognized under California law, which include:

  • Exercising rights under a statute;

  • Making internal complaints;

  • Bringing complaints to government agencies;

  • Assisting in, or proceeding with, a lawsuit; or

  • Opposing unlawful conduct.

Prohibited retaliation includes a variety of adverse employment actions taken against an employee in response to engagement in protected activity. Prohibited employer conduct may include:

  • Termination of employment;

  • Demotion;

  • Reduction of hours;

  • Reassignment; or

  • Relocation.

Whistleblower Retaliation

It is the public policy of the State of California to encourage employees to notify the appropriate personnel when they have reason to believe their employer is violating a state or federal statute, or violating or not complying with a local, state or federal rule or regulation. California's protection of whistleblowers is more extensive than federal protections. It also provides some of the stiffest statutory penalties of any state law regime.

It is immaterial whether the employer is in fact violating the law. As long as the employee has a reasonable belief that their employer is violating the law, the employee is likely entitled to whistleblower protection.

Wage and Hour Violations

California law provides protections for workers’ wages and hours. Many employers, however, violate those protections. In some cases, the violations are unintentional; the employer might simply be unaware of their legal duties. In other cases, employers intentionally violate the law to avoid paying their employees the compensation they’re entitled to.

Regardless of the intent, violations of California’s wage and hour laws can have severe consequences. Common wage and hour state law violations in California include:

  • Failing to pay California’s minimum wage;

  • Failing to pay overtime;

  • Requiring “work off the clock;”

  • Failing to provide required meal and/or rest breaks during work periods;

  • Misclassifying employees as exempt from wage and hour requirements; and

  • Misclassifying employees as independent contractors.