Employment law terms, in plain English

At-will employment

California Labor Code §2922 presumes that employment without a specified term is “at will,” meaning either the employee or the employer can end it at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice. At-will status is a default, not a shield. An employer can fire an at-will employee for a bad reason or no reason, but not for an unlawful reason, and not in violation of a contract or public policy. The exceptions are where most cases live. See wrongful termination.

CFRA (California Family Rights Act)

The California Family Rights Act, Government Code §12945.2, gives an eligible employee up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the employee’s own serious health condition, to care for a family member with one, or to bond with a new child. It generally applies to employers with five or more employees, and it covers a broader set of family members than federal law, including parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings. Leave is usually unpaid, though you may be able to draw on paid leave or state benefits during it, and your position or a comparable one is supposed to be there when you return. CFRA leave can run alongside pregnancy disability leave rather than replacing it. See disability accommodation and leave.

Civil Code §1542 waiver

A §1542 waiver is the paragraph in a settlement or severance agreement where you give up claims you do not know about yet. Civil Code §1542 says a general release does not extend to claims the releasing party does not know or suspect to exist, unless that protection is expressly waived, so agreements quote the statute and ask you to waive it by name. In plain terms: without the waiver, a claim you discover later may survive; with it, you have released it too, including things you had no way to know about when you signed. It is standard language, not a trap, but it is one of the reasons a release is very difficult to undo. See severance agreements.

Constructive discharge

A constructive discharge is a resignation the law treats as a firing. It occurs when an employer knowingly permits working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person in the employee’s position would have no reasonable alternative but to quit. California courts set that standard in Turner v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc. (1994), and it requires conditions that are both unusually aggravated and continuous, not ordinary friction or a single bad week. Because you resigned, the burden of showing intolerability falls on you. See wrongful termination.

Exempt vs. non-exempt employee

Non-exempt employees are covered by overtime, meal period, and rest break requirements. Exempt employees are not. Under Labor Code §515 and the IWC wage orders, an exemption generally requires both a salary at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work and duties that are primarily executive, administrative, or professional. A job title, a salary, or a manager label does not create an exemption by itself; the actual day-to-day work controls. Misclassification is one of the most common wage claims. See wage and hour.

FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act)

The Fair Employment and Housing Act, Government Code §12900 et seq., is California’s principal anti-discrimination employment statute. It prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected characteristics including race, religion, sex, pregnancy, age 40 and over, disability, medical condition, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, and military status. FEHA generally applies to employers with five or more employees, and its harassment provisions reach employers of any size. Its protections are broader than federal law in several respects. See discrimination.

Hostile work environment

A hostile work environment exists when unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment, under Government Code §12940(j). California’s §12923 clarifies that a single incident can suffice, that harassment need not be directed at the complaining employee, and that the conduct need not damage productivity to be actionable. Rudeness alone is not harassment; conduct tied to a protected characteristic is what makes it unlawful. See harassment.

Interactive process

The interactive process is the timely, good-faith conversation an employer must have with an employee about possible accommodations for a disability, required by Government Code §12940(n) and 2 CCR §11069. It is triggered when the employer learns of a need, from a request, a doctor’s note, or an obvious limitation. It is an ongoing exchange rather than a form, and a failure to engage in it is an independent violation of FEHA, separate from any failure to accommodate. See disability accommodation and leave.

PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act)

The Private Attorneys General Act, Labor Code §2698 et seq., lets an employee bring an action for civil penalties for Labor Code violations on behalf of the state and other aggrieved employees. It begins with written notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and it carries a one-year notice period. Penalties are shared between the state and the employees. PAGA claims often accompany individual wage claims and can survive an arbitration agreement that would otherwise block a class action. See wage and hour.

Reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is a change to a job, schedule, equipment, or policy that lets an employee with a disability perform the essential functions of the position, required by Government Code §12940(m). Examples include modified schedules, ergonomic equipment, remote work, a leave of absence, or reassignment to a vacant position. An employer must provide one unless it would cause undue hardship, a standard measured against the employer’s size and resources. A finite leave can itself be an accommodation. See disability accommodation and leave.

Retaliation and adverse employment action

Retaliation is punishment for protected activity, such as complaining about discrimination, requesting an accommodation, reporting a legal violation, or filing a wage claim. It is prohibited by Government Code §12940(h) and Labor Code §1102.5, among others. An adverse employment action is any action that materially affects the terms or conditions of employment, which under Yanowitz v. L’Oréal USA (2005) includes demotions, schedule cuts, reassignment, and discipline, not only termination. See retaliation and whistleblower claims.

Right-to-sue letter (CRD)

A right-to-sue letter is the document from the California Civil Rights Department that permits you to file a FEHA lawsuit in court. Under Government Code §12965, exhausting this administrative step is generally a prerequisite to suing. A complaint must ordinarily be filed with the CRD within three years of the alleged conduct, and once the right-to-sue notice issues, suit must generally be filed within one year. An immediate right-to-sue can usually be requested online without a CRD investigation. See discrimination.

Waiting-time penalties

Waiting-time penalties are the sanction for paying a departing employee late. Under Labor Code §203, an employer that willfully fails to pay all final wages when due owes the employee’s daily wage for each day the payment is late, up to 30 days. Final wages are due immediately on termination and, in most cases, within 72 hours of a resignation without notice. The penalty is separate from the unpaid wages themselves and applies even when the shortfall is small. See wage and hour.

Wrongful termination in violation of public policy (Tameny claim)

A Tameny claim is a common-law wrongful termination claim recognized in Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (1980). It applies when an employee is fired for a reason that violates a fundamental public policy grounded in a statute or constitutional provision, such as refusing to break the law, reporting illegal conduct, or exercising a legal right. It is brought directly in court, with no administrative filing required, and it generally carries a two-year statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure §335.1. See wrongful termination.