Was my firing in Los Angeles against the law? A plain-English checklist

Losing a job is hard, especially when it happens suddenly or feels unfair. This article walks through, in general terms, when California law may protect a worker who was let go, and gives you questions to think about. It cannot tell you whether your own firing broke the law. Only a careful look at your facts can do that.

The starting point: most jobs are "at will"

Most jobs in California are "at will." In general, that means an employer can end a job without warning and without a reason, and a worker can quit the same way. A firing that feels unfair, or that comes from a personality clash, is not automatically against the law. Our wrongful termination guide explains at-will employment in more detail.

The key question is usually not whether the employer had a good reason. It is whether the real reason was one the law does not allow.

When a firing may cross a line

Discrimination

California's civil rights law protects workers from being fired because of protected traits such as race, disability, sex, age (40 and over), sexual orientation, religion, and military or veteran status. It also covers discrimination based on a combination of traits. These rules apply to employers with 5 or more employees, and harassment is prohibited at workplaces of any size (CRD: Employment, CRD 2024 legislative summary). Federal law, enforced by the EEOC, generally covers employers with 15 or more employees, or 20 or more for age (EEOC Los Angeles). Our discrimination guide has more.

Retaliation for speaking up

Retaliation generally means a bad job action, such as firing, demotion or cut hours, taken because a worker did something the law protects (Labor Commissioner: Retaliation). Protected steps include complaining about wages (Labor Code 98.6) and complaining about unsafe conditions (Labor Code 6310). For wage complaints and equal pay complaints, California law presumes retaliation if the employer acts within 90 days, though the employer can try to show another reason (Labor Commissioner: Laws that prohibit retaliation). Our retaliation guide explains this further.

Whistleblowing

Labor Code 1102.5 protects workers who report a suspected violation of the law to a government agency or to a person with authority over them, and workers who refuse to take part in something illegal (Labor Commissioner: Laws that prohibit retaliation). Our whistleblower guide covers this in depth.

Taking protected leave

Employers with 5 or more employees generally must allow eligible workers up to 12 weeks of job-protected family and medical leave under CFRA (CRD expanded CFRA fact sheet). Pregnancy disability leave can last up to four months (CRD: Employment). Employers also may not punish workers for using paid sick days, which can be used to care for a family member or a designated person (Labor Commissioner: Paid sick leave). Protections for jury duty, court-ordered appearances and some crime victim leave are handled by the Civil Rights Department (Labor Commissioner: Laws that prohibit retaliation).

Talking about pay

Employers generally cannot stop you from sharing your own pay, or punish you for asking about coworkers' pay (Labor Commissioner: California Equal Pay Act).

Questions to think about

These questions can help you organize what happened. A "yes" does not mean the firing was against the law, and a "no" does not mean it was fine.

Timing and speaking up

• Did you complain about pay, breaks or overtime shortly before you were let go?
• Did you report an unsafe condition to a supervisor or an agency?
• Did you report something you believed broke a law, or refuse an instruction you believed was illegal?
• Did you ask about or discuss pay with coworkers?

Treatment and identity

• Did treatment change after your employer learned about a pregnancy, a disability, your age, your religion or another protected trait?
• Were you let go soon after asking for an accommodation for a disability, pregnancy or religious practice?
• Were coworkers outside your group kept on after the same mistakes or attendance record?

Leave

• Were you let go during, right after, or right after asking for CFRA leave or pregnancy disability leave?
• Were you let go after using paid sick days?
• Did it happen after time off for jury duty, a court order, or to deal with a crime or domestic violence?

Right after the firing

• Did you receive your final pay, including accrued vacation, when you were let go?
• Have you looked into unemployment benefits? Being fired does not automatically rule them out (EDD: Unemployment).

Where people can get official help

These agencies take complaints for free, and each has its own window.

• California Civil Rights Department (CRD): discrimination, harassment, related retaliation and protected leave. You can start online through the California Civil Rights System, by email at contact.center@calcivilrights.ca.gov, or by phone at 800-884-1684 (CRD: How to file). You can ask CRD to investigate, or ask for a right-to-sue notice (CRD: Right-to-sue notice).
• California Labor Commissioner: retaliation for wage complaints, safety complaints and whistleblowing, plus unpaid final wages. Los Angeles area offices are at 320 W. Fourth St., Suite 450, Los Angeles; 6150 Van Nuys Blvd., Room 206, Van Nuys; and 300 Oceangate, 3rd Floor, Long Beach (office locations). The office does not ask about immigration status or report it to other agencies (Labor Commissioner: Retaliation).
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): federal discrimination. Inquiries start on the EEOC Public Portal (EEOC: How to file). The Los Angeles District Office is in the Roybal Federal Building, 255 East Temple St., 4th Floor, phone 213-785-3090 (EEOC Los Angeles).
• Employment Development Department (EDD): unemployment benefits (EDD: Unemployment).

Not sure which agency fits? Our Where to file tool can help you narrow it down.