How Long Does an Employment Lawsuit Take in California?

Most California employment cases take a year or more, and the courts themselves aim to resolve 75% of unlimited civil cases within 12 months and all of them within 24. The outer limit is fixed by statute: a case must be brought to trial within five years of filing. Where your case lands in that range depends on a handful of decisions, some of which are yours.

At a glance

• The California courts' own target is 75% of unlimited civil cases disposed of within 12 months, 85% within 18, and 100% within 24 (California Rules of Court, rule 3.714(b)(1)).
• Those are management goals for the courts, not a promise about your case.
• The hard ceiling is Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310: an action must be brought to trial within five years of being filed.
• The clock starts before the lawsuit. A discrimination, harassment or retaliation claim goes to the Civil Rights Department first.
• The single biggest thing you control is how early you start, because the deadlines run whether or not anyone is working on your case.

What people assume, and what California law says

What is the honest answer to how long it takes?

A year or more, and often longer. The California Rules of Court set the target the trial courts are managed against: for unlimited civil cases, "75 percent are disposed of within 12 months; 85 percent are disposed of within 18 months; and 100 percent are disposed of within 24 months." That is rule 3.714(b)(1).

Read that carefully, because it is a target for a court's whole caseload, not a schedule for your case. A quarter of cases are expected to run past a year by the court's own reckoning, and the standard allows for two years.

There is one genuinely hard limit. Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310 says an action "shall be brought to trial within five years after the action is commenced against the defendant." Past that, dismissal is on the table. So the outer edge is five years, the court's own goal is two, and most cases resolve somewhere in between or settle before they get near either.

Why does an employment case take that long?

Because it has two halves, and the first one does not look like a lawsuit at all.

A discrimination, harassment or retaliation claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act starts with an administrative complaint to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) (formerly DFEH). You cannot go straight to court. That stage exists so the agency can investigate, and an investigation takes as long as the agency's caseload dictates.

The second half is the court case, and the time there goes into a predictable sequence. The employer answers. Both sides exchange written questions and documents. Depositions get scheduled around the calendars of everyone involved, which is usually the slowest part. Motions get briefed and heard on the court's calendar rather than yours. Mediation gets booked, and a good mediator is often booked months out. Only then does a trial date matter.

None of those steps is unusually slow on its own. They are slow in aggregate, because each one waits on somebody else.

What actually makes one case faster than another?

Four things, roughly in order of how much they matter.

How quickly you start. Evidence decays. Witnesses leave. The deadline runs regardless of whether anyone is working on your file. Starting six months late does not shift the finish line six months, it shortens the time available to build the case.

Whether you wait for the agency investigation. You can ask the CRD for an immediate right to sue notice. That skips the free investigation and lets the court case begin, which is usually faster. It is a real trade, and worth deciding deliberately rather than by default.

Whether an arbitration agreement applies. If you signed one, the case may go to arbitration instead of court. Arbitration is generally quicker than a court trial, though what you gain in speed you may give up elsewhere.

How hard the case is fought. A dispute about a fortnight of unpaid wages does not attract the same resistance as a claim worth several years of earnings. More at stake means more motions, more discovery, and more time.

Ready to talk it through?

If you are trying to work out whether your own timeline is normal or stalled, the useful thing is a look at your actual dates rather than an average. We read the facts free.

How long do I have to file in the first place?

This is the deadline question, and it is the one that ends cases before they start.

For a discrimination, harassment or retaliation claim under FEHA, you generally have three years from the unlawful act to file with the CRD, and then one year from the right to sue notice to file in court. Those are two separate clocks and the second one is firm.

Federal claims are shorter. A charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) generally has to be filed within 300 days in California, and after a federal right to sue notice you have only 90 days.

Some claims run shorter still, including claims against a public entity and claims based on a contract. If you are not certain which deadline governs your situation, treat it as short until someone has calculated it against your facts.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an employment lawsuit take in California?

Usually a year or more. The California courts aim to resolve 75% of unlimited civil cases within 12 months, 85% within 18 months and 100% within 24 months, under rule 3.714(b)(1) of the California Rules of Court. Those are the courts' management targets rather than a schedule for any one case, and the statutory ceiling is five years to reach trial.

Is there a limit on how long my case can take?

Yes. Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310 requires an action to be brought to trial within five years after it is filed. Miss that and dismissal becomes a live risk, which is one reason delay is not a neutral choice.

Does going to the Civil Rights Department first make it slower?

It can. A FEHA claim has to go through the CRD before it can go to court, and an investigation takes as long as the agency's caseload allows. You can request an immediate right to sue notice instead, which forgoes the investigation and starts the court case sooner.

Will my case go to trial?

Most do not get that far, and a trial date is better understood as pressure than as a destination. Cases resolve by settlement or by motion at many points along the way, which is why the range of outcomes is so wide.

Is arbitration faster than court?

Generally yes. If you signed an arbitration agreement, your claim may be heard by an arbitrator rather than a jury, and that process usually moves faster than a court trial. Speed is not the only thing that changes, so it is worth understanding the trade before treating it as good news.

What is the slowest part of an employment case?

Usually scheduling. Depositions, mediation dates and motion hearings all have to fit several calendars at once, including the court's. Individually none of it takes long. Together it is where months go.

Does my case get faster if I have a lawyer?

It changes what the time is spent on. Deadlines are calculated properly, discovery is not repeated, and settlement conversations start from a position rather than a hope. It does not remove the court's calendar or the other side's willingness to fight.

Where to start

Get your dates on paper before anything else. The date of the act you are complaining about, the date you reported it if you did, and the date your employment ended. Those three dates decide which deadline governs and how much room you actually have.

If you have already filed with the CRD, find the notice and check whether a right to sue has issued, because that starts a separate and firmer clock.

The Law Offices of Jonathan J. Delshad is a Los Angeles based employment law firm representing employees across California in wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage and hour matters. Representing employees is the core of the firm's practice. Mr. Delshad serves as Editor-in-Chief of the California Wrongful Termination Law Review and trained at Latham & Watkins. Recognition includes Super Lawyers (2022 to 2026), Best Lawyers (since 2017), and an Avvo 10.0 "Superb" rating. Reviewed for California employment law accuracy. Last updated: August 25, 2026.

Attorney advertising. This article is educational only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship, which exists only under a signed engagement agreement. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the specific facts. Deadlines can run early, so consult a lawyer promptly about your situation.