While an employee in California is generally employed “at-will” meaning they can be fired at any time for no reason. However there are laws in California that protect an employee from being discharged, fired or laid off for the wrong reasons. A “wrongful termination” claim can be brought against an employer when that employer has fired, discharged or laid off an employee in violation of the law. It is not enough for the employee to simply show that he/she was treated unfairly but the employee must show that the termination was “wrongful” meaning that the employer violated one or more of the employee’s lawful rights. In California the exceptions to the employee at will doctrine generally falls into the broad categories listed below:
Breach of Contract, actual or implied