Losing a job is hard enough on its own. It gets harder when the firing came right after you reported something, took time off you were legally allowed to take, or refused to go along with something you knew was wrong. When that happens, you need a straight answer, not a guess. Was this just an unfair decision, or did your employer break the law?
The Hawthorne wrongful termination lawyer team at Kristy & Kananen represents workers in wrongful termination cases and answers this question for people in your position.
Tell us what happened at work. We will tell you whether you may have a case, and what you can do next.
| Employment Law Focus Since 2003 – James Kristy | Combined 60+ Years Practicing Law | No Fee Unless We Recover | Free Case Review |
Not every unfair firing breaks the law. We look closely at terminations that fall into these categories:
If your situation does not fit neatly into one of these, tell us anyway. Many workers do not know which box their case falls into until someone with employment law experience looks closely at the timeline, the paper trail, and what was said before and after the firing.
A wrongful termination affects more than your paycheck. It can mean lost health coverage, a gap on your resume, and stress that follows you into your next job search.
California law makes it illegal for an employer to fire you because of your race, sex, age, disability, or several other protected traits (Government Code section 12940). When an employer crosses that line, you may be able to recover the wages you lost, the benefits you were denied, and compensation for what the experience cost you emotionally.
The law does not require you to prove your former employer wanted to hurt you personally. But in most discrimination cases, you do need to show that your protected trait, such as your race, age, or disability, was a real reason behind the decision.
California generally gives you three years from the date you were fired to file a complaint with the state’s Civil Rights Department (Government Code section 12960). You must do this before you can sue for most wrongful termination claims. Some claims, like certain contract or public policy claims, run on a different clock entirely.
Waiting does not help your case. Evidence disappears, witnesses forget details, and your former employer’s version of events becomes the only one anyone remembers. If you were let go in Hawthorne and think the reason behind it was not legal, the sooner your timeline gets reviewed, the more options you may keep open.
Not every firing that feels unfair counts as wrongful termination under the law. California is an at-will state, which means your employer generally does not need a reason to let you go. What the law does not allow is firing you because of discrimination, retaliation for reporting something, a broken promise tied to your contract, or because you refused to do something illegal.
We work on contingency, so you pay nothing upfront and nothing unless we recover money for you. Your case gets reviewed at no cost, and no bill arrives while we investigate and build your claim. If there is no recovery, there is no fee, which means our interest in your case is the same as yours from the first call.
Sometimes, yes. Severance agreements can be written too broadly, signed under pressure, or fail to include language California law requires before a waiver is enforceable. Some employers also present these agreements on the same day as the termination, with a short deadline attached, which can itself raise questions about how the agreement was obtained. Do not assume a signature closes the door on your claim before a lawyer has reviewed what you signed and how you were asked to sign it.
Depending on your situation, you may recover back pay, lost benefits, and compensation for emotional distress. In some cases, you may also recover punitive damages meant to punish the employer for especially bad conduct. The amount depends on your wages, how long you were out of work, how quickly you found new employment, and the severity of your former employer’s conduct. A lawyer who has valued these cases before can usually give you a realistic range early, rather than a guess.
You can file a complaint with the state on your own, but your former employer will have lawyers involved from day one, often before you have even decided what to do. Having someone on your side who knows how these cases are built, argued, and valued changes what you may be able to prove. It also means you are not the one negotiating directly with the company that just fired you.
You do not have to figure out on your own whether what happened to you was legal. Contact Kristy & Kananen to have your firing reviewed by an attorney who has represented Southern California workers in these cases since 2003. There is no cost to find out where you stand.
Contact Kristy & Kananen to discuss your employment law, construction defect or insurance-bad-faith claim. There are no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
To meet with an experienced lawyer to discuss your employment law matter, construction
defect or insurance bad faith claim. There are no attorney’s fees unless we recover
compensation on your behalf.
Contact Us Today 866-981-1498
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