This website is for general information only. The only effective way to determine your rights ultimately is to obtain individualized advice from an attorney.

1.  Most employees are "at will".
Most California employees that work for private employers are "at will." That means employers can fire any employee for any reason, no reason or even the wrong reason unless it's for an illegal reason, such as discrimination based on age, race, sex, national origin, disability or sexual orientation. Other illegal reasons include retaliation for an employee complaining about certain illegal activities by the employer such as discrimination, harassment, or the failure to pay wages or the employee's lawful out-of-the-workplace activities.

2.  Discrimination.
Any employment decision based on sex, race, national origin, disabilities, sexual origination or age is illegal.

3.  Failure to accommodate.
Any failure to offer some form of accommodation of a reasonable request regarding disability is illegal.

4.  Retaliation.
Any employment decision based on retaliation for illegal discrimination (see item 2 above) or any complaint regarding any substantial complaint of illegal activity or on any lawful "out-of-office activity by the employee is illegal.

5.  Failure to pay overtime wages.
With some exceptions, you are entitled to overtime pay unless you spend most of your time doing managerial or high-level administrative work or are a licensed professional. Many employers purposely or mistakenly misclassify employees, depriving them of legally required overtime pay.