The California Wrongful Termination Playbook
A plain-English guide for employees who were fired, pushed out, or handed a severance agreement. Understand the basics of California employment law — before you sign anything, and before a deadline quietly runs out.
Here's everything the guide covers — plus one full section to read right now. The other 26 are in the free 30-page PDF.
Everything the guide covers, section by section.
Titles only below — the full write-up for each one is in the PDF. Skim the list, see what's covered, then download the whole thing.
- At-will employment is the starting point, not the end
- Wrongful termination warning signs
- Wage and hour essentials
- Meal, rest, and paid sick leave rights
- Final pay and wage statements
- Sexual harassment
- Retaliation
- FEHA discrimination overview
- Disability discrimination
- Accommodation and the interactive process
- PDL, CFRA, FMLA, and medical leave
- Other protected absences
- Evidence to save now
- Deadlines and limitation periods
- Intake timeline and claim map
- Severance agreement overview
- Severance red flags
- Severance review checklist
- Clauses to flag before signing
- Demand-letter anatomy
- Choosing a Los Angeles employment attorney
- Fees, costs, and case investment
- Questions to ask on a consultation
- DelshadLegal intake packet
- Frequently asked questions
- Contact and next steps
- Key sources and final reminder
Wrongful termination warning signs
Free preview. This is one full section from the guide, word for word — the other 26 are in the download.
"Wrongful termination" is an umbrella phrase. In California, viable claims often arise from discrimination, retaliation, disability-accommodation failures, whistleblowing, protected leave, or a termination that violates public policy. Strong claims usually share a chain:
- Protected act — a complaint, leave request, accommodation request, or wage issue.
- Adverse action — firing, demotion, forced resignation, or cut hours.
- Employer knowledge — a manager or HR knew before the action.
- Causal facts — timing, shifting reasons, comparators, and documents.
Red flags: sudden discipline after years of good reviews; termination soon after medical leave; pressure to resign; new reasons offered later.
Not enough alone: a rude boss, an unfair review, or a personality conflict usually needs a legal hook — protected status, protected activity, protected leave, wage rights, or whistleblowing.
Please readAttorney advertising. This playbook is educational only and is not legal advice. Reading or downloading it does not create an attorney–client relationship — that happens only through a written engagement agreement signed by the firm. Deadlines can be short and fact-specific; do not rely on HR, a manager, or a severance deadline to tell you when legal rights expire.
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- All 27 sections, from at-will basics to severance red flags
- A claim map, evidence list, and intake checklist you can act on today
- $0 — and downloading creates no obligation
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Read the guide. Then tell us what happened.
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Prefer to talk? Call (424) 255-8376 — a real person answers.