Termination
Fired in California: What to Do in the First Week
Just lost your job in California? Check your final paycheck, request your records, apply for unemployment and avoid signing away claims too quickly.
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California employment law
explained clearly.
Answers to common questions and to the situations that do not fit a standard form, with everyday examples and the official sources.
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Orientation before you decide.
Wages
Your Final Paycheck in California and Waiting-Time Penalties
When California employers must pay final wages after a firing, layoff or resignation, what must be included and what happens if the check is late.
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California Overtime, Meal and Rest Breaks: What You Are Owed
Daily overtime, double time, meal and rest breaks and premium pay under California law, and how to tell whether you are misclassified as exempt.
Read the guideDiscrimination and retaliation
Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation at Work: Filing With the California Civil Rights Department
How FEHA protects California employees, how a complaint with the Civil Rights Department works and which deadlines apply under state and federal law.
Read the guideSeverance and contracts
Severance Agreements in California: What to Check Before You Sign
What a California severance agreement usually asks you to give up, the review periods the law requires and the terms that are often negotiable.
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Non-Compete Agreements in California: Why Most Are Void
California Business and Professions Code §16600 makes most non-competes void. What that means for you, the exceptions and what still applies after you leave.
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Fired During or After Medical Leave in California: CFRA Rights
How the California Family Rights Act protects job-protected leave for your own health or a family member, what reinstatement means and when a firing after leave may be unlawful.
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Pregnancy Disability Leave and Pregnancy Discrimination in California
What California's Pregnancy Disability Leave law covers, how it fits together with CFRA bonding leave, accommodation and lactation rights, and what to do if you are treated differently.
Read the guideDiscrimination and retaliation
Whistleblower Retaliation in California: Labor Code §1102.5
What counts as protected whistleblowing in California, how Labor Code §1102.5 and related laws protect employees who report or refuse to break the law, and how retaliation claims are proven.
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Misclassified as an Independent Contractor? California's ABC Test
How California decides whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the ABC test, which exceptions apply, and what a misclassified worker may be owed.
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Unpaid Commissions in California: Written Plans and Final Pay
When commissions count as wages in California, why commission plans must be in writing, what happens to commissions when you leave, and how to claim what you are owed.
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PAGA Claims in California: The Basics for Employees
What the Private Attorneys General Act is, how an employee gives notice to the state before suing, how the 2024 reforms changed PAGA and how it relates to arbitration agreements.
Read the guideDiscrimination and retaliation
Fired After a Work Injury? Workers' Compensation Retaliation in California
How California protects employees who report a work injury or file a workers' compensation claim, what Labor Code §132a covers, and how it relates to disability claims under FEHA.
Read the guideTermination
Unemployment Benefits After Being Fired in California
Can you get unemployment in California after being fired? How the EDD decides misconduct, what to say in the eligibility interview and how to appeal a denial.
Read the guideDiscrimination and retaliation
Reporting Workplace Harassment in California
What counts as harassment under California's FEHA, how and to whom to report it, what the employer must do in response, and how you are protected against retaliation.
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