How do I sue for wrongful termination?
To sue for wrongful termination, the first thing you need to do is schedule an appointment with an attorney who knows how to sue for wrongful termination. What they will do is they'll understand your case.
They'll take in the intake and they'll prepare your case for trial. The first step in any case for wrongful termination is to get a right to sue letter from the CRD in California or the EEOC in federal court.
After that, once you have a right to sue letter, you can prepare a lawsuit, file it against your employer, and take it as far as it needs to go. Sometimes there's an early settlement, and sometimes the case goes all the way through trial. And it just depends on the facts of your case and the willingness of your employer to resolve it.
Not all claims work the same way
Beyond the right-to-sue step already covered, it helps to know there's more than one legal path to a wrongful termination case. California also recognizes wrongful termination that violates a fundamental public policy of the state, a claim that exists alongside — not in place of — statutes like FEHA, and it can sometimes apply even when the facts don't fit neatly into one specific protected category.
Which path (or combination) fits your situation shapes what you'll eventually need to prove in court. Sorting that out is one of the first things an attorney does before anything gets filed.
What helps your case move faster
Come to that first meeting prepared. A little organization goes a long way:
- Termination paperwork and any severance offer
- Recent performance reviews
- Emails or texts from around the time of the firing
- A written timeline while your memory is fresh
The more prepared you are walking in, the clearer your attorney's assessment will be — and the sooner you'll know where you actually stand.
More questions, answered.
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What happens if you win a wrongful termination suit?
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