California, like most of the United States, is known as an employment-at-will state. This means that you can be fired for virtually any reason, including the possibility that an employee has a negative opinion or bad references.
In fact, most employees make employees sign agreements that clearly state that the employment relationship is at-will and that it can be terminated at any time. However, it is important to understand that while employers have wide latitude when it comes to terminating an employee, there are also laws that protect the rights of employees.
Therefore, if you were fired for an illegal reason, you can file a wrongful termination lawsuit to recover damages, including back pay, advance pay, punitive damages, and even emotional distress damages. Wrongful termination essentially means you have been fired from your job for a protected characteristic or activity. Protected characteristics/activities include:
- Age
- Race
- Disability
- Sexual orientation
- Gender
- Pregnancy
- Reporting a violation of the law
- Reporting sexual harassment
- Reporting discrimination
- Retaliation for taking family and medical leave
Also, you do not have to be fired in order to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. For example, suppose your employer created unbearable working conditions, to the point that a reasonable person in your situation would be forced to leave the job. In that case, you may have a claim for wrongful termination.
Before proceeding with a claim, it is essential to remember that even if your employer did not give you a reason for your termination, that does not automatically mean you were wrongfully terminated. However, failure to notify can be significant and can be used to prove a pretext. This means that there was no actual termination notice because the employee did not want to disclose the reason for termination (i.e., an illegal reason).
If your employee fired you for no reason, this might expose you to discriminatory abuse behavior. In effect, this will help prove a wrongful termination case later on.