Orange, California
Which law covers what happened to you?
California protects employees more thoroughly than almost any other state. Most people never learn how thoroughly until the week they need it. Start with the description closest to your situation, if two or three sound right, that’s normal. Overlapping claims often make a case stronger.
Free · Confidential · Reviewed by the attorney · Typically replies within 48 hours
One experience. Often several claims.
The law sorts problems differently than people do. What feels like one long story: the manager who turned, the write-ups, the walk to the parking lot: is often several separate claims, each with its own clock.
Each area below lists the deadline that tends to arrive first. Deadlines depend on the facts of your situation. Do not rely on this page to calculate yours.
Wrongful Termination
Being fired is not illegal in California. Being fired for an illegal reason is. If the firing followed a complaint, an injury, a medical leave, or your race, age, sex, or disability: at-will employment may not shield your employer.
A public-policy wrongful discharge claim generally carries a two-year limit (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1).
Discrimination
A decision about pay, promotion, discipline, or firing made because of who you are rather than how you work. FEHA reaches further than federal law: race, religion, sex and pregnancy, age 40 and over, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity.
Generally three years to file with the Civil Rights Department, then one year to sue after a right-to-sue notice.
Harassment
Slurs, propositions, touching, threats: conduct aimed at you because of who you are, until the job itself turns hostile. California law recognizes that a single serious incident can be enough (Government Code §12923).
Generally three years to file with the Civil Rights Department, then one year to sue.
Retaliation & Whistleblower
You reported something you reasonably believed was unlawful, and then the schedule, the title, or the job disappeared. Labor Code §1102.5 is among the broadest whistleblower protections in the country.
A §1102.5 claim generally carries a three-year limit (Code of Civil Procedure §338).
Wage & Hour
Unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, breaks that never happen, a late final paycheck, or a title that calls you exempt when the work is not. Small amounts, multiplied by every pay period, stop being small.
Generally three years for unpaid wages, up to four through the Unfair Competition Law.
Disability & Leave
You asked for a modified schedule, equipment, or time to recover, and the conversation ended instead of starting. California requires an interactive process, and the duty to accommodate can outlast your leave.
Generally three years to file a failure-to-accommodate complaint with the Civil Rights Department.
Severance Agreements
A severance agreement is a purchase: the company is buying every claim you have, usually before you know what those claims are worth.
The one your employer sets. Workers 40 and over generally get 21 days to consider (45 in a group layoff) and 7 to revoke.
Personal Injury
A secondary focus of our firm: vehicle collisions, premises injuries, and serious harm caused by someone else’s carelessness. The clock is the trap: some claims allow only months.
Generally two years, and as little as six months against a public entity (Government Code §911.2).
If you can’t tell which one applies
Most people can’t, and it doesn’t matter. You don’t need a legal theory or the right word for what happened. A description of the last few months is enough. Taylor E. DeRosa reviews these matters himself.
Asked before choosing a lawyer
Do I need to know which claim I have before I call?
No. Sorting a situation into legal claims is the lawyer’s work, not yours. Most people describe what happened in ordinary words: the write-up that came out of nowhere, the leave that ended badly, the paycheck that was short. The claims become clear from there. Dates, names, and whatever documents you already have are enough to start.
Can one situation be more than one claim?
Often, yes. A single firing can involve discrimination, retaliation, a failure to accommodate, and unpaid final wages at the same time, and each of those carries its own proof and its own deadline. Overlapping claims tend to make a case stronger rather than more complicated. They are evaluated together, in one review.
What does a free case review actually involve?
A conversation with Taylor DeRosa about what happened, what your documents show, and which deadlines are running. He explains what he sees, including when the honest answer is that the law does not reach it. The review is free and confidential whether or not we take the matter, and having it does not obligate you to hire anyone.
How fast do I need to act?
Sooner than most people expect. Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims under FEHA generally require a Civil Rights Department filing within three years, then suit within one year of the right-to-sue notice. Many wage and whistleblower claims run three years. Deadlines depend on the facts of your situation. Do not rely on this page to calculate yours.
Do we handle cases outside Orange County?
Yes. We represent employees throughout Southern California, including Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. Matters are led in Orange County Superior Court, and are filed in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, or Riverside Superior Court where the employer sits there, with administrative complaints filed with California’s Civil Rights Department. Where you live in Southern California does not decide whether we can help.
Serving Orange County, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and Southern California. Terms are defined in the glossary.
Taylor DeRosa has been selected to the Super Lawyers® Rising Stars list, Employment Litigation – Plaintiff, 2025–2027.
Talking costs nothing. Waiting can.
Deadlines in California are short and unforgiving: some claims expire in months, not years. A free, confidential case review tells you where you stand while every option is still open. Reviewed by the attorney. Typically replies within 48 hours.
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Taylor E. DeRosa, Attorney at Law
Orange, California
(714) 261-9895
hello@derosalawfirm.com
Representing employees and injured people in Orange County, Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties), and throughout Southern California.
Attorney Advertising. DeRosa Law Firm. Taylor E. DeRosa, responsible attorney for this communication. California State Bar No. 319853. Address of record: 5811 Pine Avenue, Suite B, Chino Hills, CA 91709. Serving Orange County, Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and all of Southern California. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The information on this website is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.