Employee Rights

Wrongful Termination

At AJG Law Group, PC, we represent California employees who were fired, constructively discharged, or effectively forced out because of a disability, medical condition, or protected leave — when the law required the employer to explore accommodation options before taking any adverse action. These cases arise regularly, and the factual pattern is consistent: an employee discloses a condition or requests leave, and the employer terminates them rather than having the conversation the law requires.

What Makes a Termination Wrongful Under FEHA

Termination Instead of Accommodation

The most common wrongful termination pattern in California disability cases is straightforward: an employee requests a leave extension, a schedule modification, a reduced workload, or a change in duties due to a medical condition. The employer terminates them rather than engaging in the legally required interactive process to explore what accommodations might allow the employee to continue working.

This is a FEHA violation regardless of whether the accommodation ultimately would have been required. The employer’s obligation is to discuss the request before acting. Terminating the employee to avoid that discussion — or because the accommodation would be inconvenient — does not satisfy FEHA.

Termination After Disclosure

California courts look at what changed when the employer learned of the disability. An employee with no prior disciplinary history who receives a negative performance review or termination notice shortly after disclosing a medical condition has a strong FEHA case. The timing is evidence of discriminatory motive, and the employer must explain why the adverse action came when it did.

Common Wrongful Termination Scenarios

Fired During or After Medical Leave

An employee who is terminated while on approved medical leave, or who returns from leave to find their position has been eliminated, faces a strong FEHA and CFRA claim. California law requires employers to reinstate employees returning from protected medical leave to their same or equivalent position. Eliminating the position during leave — without demonstrating that the elimination would have occurred regardless — is a recognized pretextual justification.

Fired After Requesting Accommodation

An employee who submits a written accommodation request and is terminated within weeks or months — without the employer ever engaging in any discussion about the request — presents strong evidence of termination to avoid accommodation. The failure to engage in the interactive process, combined with the adverse action, are the key elements of the claim.

Constructive Discharge

Constructive discharge occurs when an employer deliberately makes working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable employee has no choice but to resign. In disability cases, constructive discharge often follows a pattern: an employer who cannot legally fire an employee for a disability creates conditions — demotion, shift changes, isolation, workload manipulation — that pressure the employee to leave. A resignation under these circumstances may be treated as a termination for legal purposes.

Reduction in Force Used as Cover

A reduction in force that disproportionately or suspiciously targets employees who recently disclosed disabilities, requested accommodations, or took medical leave warrants scrutiny. Legitimate workforce reductions apply neutral criteria consistently. When an employee with a protected characteristic is selected while similarly situated employees without that characteristic are retained, the business justification may be pretextual.

What You Can Recover

A successful FEHA wrongful termination case can recover:

• Lost wages — back pay from the date of termination through the date of judgment, including benefits
• Front pay — future lost earnings from the date of judgment forward, when reinstatement is not feasible
• Emotional distress damages — the anxiety, humiliation, and disruption caused by wrongful termination are compensable under FEHA
• Punitive damages — available when the employer’s conduct was particularly willful, oppressive, or carried out by a managing agent
• Attorney fees — the employer pays when the employee prevails under FEHA, making these cases viable regardless of the employee’s financial situation

FEHA cases must be filed within three years of the wrongful termination. If you were terminated more than a year ago, contact us immediately to confirm your claim is still timely before taking any further steps.

If you were terminated after disclosing a disability, requesting an accommodation, or taking medical leave — and your employer never discussed accommodation options with you — contact AJG Law Group, PC for a free case evaluation.