Wrongful Termination Lawyer in Glendale

Recent tech-sector RIFs and entertainment-industry consolidation have produced a wave of wrongful-termination, severance, and WARN-Act questions for Glendale workers. California's at-will doctrine has well-defined public-policy exceptions under Labor Code sections 132a, 6310, 1102.5 and FEHA. Call us at 1-800-371-3088.

What Is Wrongful Termination in Glendale

California is an at-will state, but the at-will rule has many exceptions. The leading case is Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (1980) 27 Cal.3d 167, which established the public-policy tort: an employee fired for refusing to commit an illegal act, for asserting a statutory right, or for reporting illegal conduct can sue in tort. Other Glendale wrongful-termination grounds include FEHA (Cal. Government Code section 12940), Labor Code section 1102.5 (whistleblower retaliation), Labor Code section 6310 (Cal/OSHA retaliation), Labor Code section 232 (wage-discussion retaliation), and Labor Code section 132a (workers' compensation retaliation).

Glendale Industries Where Wrongful Termination Claims Are Most Common

• Animation, creative, and Walt Disney Imagineering workers - at Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters (1401 Flower Street, Glendale - founded December 16, 1952 by Walt Disney to oversee Disneyland Park; the creative force behind all Disney theme-park experiences) and DreamWorks Animation (~2,200 Glendale employees, 1000 Flower Street; a NBCUniversal/Comcast subsidiary). Creative workers may be covered by The Animation Guild (TAG / IATSE Local 839) collective bargaining agreement, SAG-AFTRA, WGA, DGA, or IATSE Local 839 agreements. Public-company employees of NBCUniversal/Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) parent are protected by Sarbanes-Oxley (18 U.S.C. section 1514A), Dodd-Frank section 922 (15 U.S.C. section 78u-6), the Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. section 1836), the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Cal. Civil Code section 3426 et seq.), and California Bus. & Prof. Code section 16600 (no non-competes).
• Healthcare workers at Adventist Health Glendale - at Adventist Health Glendale (1509 Wilson Terrace, Glendale, CA 91206 - 515-bed tertiary care hospital, founded 1905; one of the city's oldest businesses; legal name Glendale Sanitarium and Hospital dba Adventist Health Glendale; affiliated with Seventh-day Adventist; approximately 1,800 staff per local economic development data). Also Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital. Covered by SB 525 healthcare-worker minimum-wage schedule (Cal. Labor Code sections 1182.14, 1182.15, 1182.16), California Health & Safety Code section 1278.5 ($25,000-per-violation civil penalty for patient-safety retaliation), and CNA / SEIU-UHW / NUHW collective bargaining agreements.
• Corporate office workers at Glendale's 6+ million square feet of office space - at Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY, global materials science HQ in Glendale), LegalZoom, Dine Brands Global (IHOP/Applebee's parent, NYSE: DIN, Glendale HQ), Public Storage (NYSE: PSA, Glendale HQ), ServiceTitan, and other Class A corporate tenants. Public-company employees have specific protections under Sarbanes-Oxley (18 U.S.C. section 1514A), Dodd-Frank section 922 (15 U.S.C. section 78u-6), the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and California's non-compete prohibition (Bus. & Prof. Code section 16600).
• K-12 education workers at Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) - at the Glendale Unified School District. Covered by California Education Code sections 44930-44987 (permanent-employee dismissal protections), the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA / Cal. Gov. Code sections 3540-3549.3), Cal. Education Code section 44113 (school-employee whistleblower protections), and CTA-affiliated collective bargaining agreements. PEPRA and the 6-month government-claim deadline apply.
• City of Glendale and Glendale Water and Power workers - at the City of Glendale (charter city), the Glendale Police Department, the Glendale Fire Department, and Glendale Water and Power (GWP) - the city's municipally-owned electric and water utility (one of only a handful of California cities to operate its own electric utility). GWP utility workers may have Energy Reorganization Act section 5851 (42 U.S.C. section 5851) whistleblower protections for energy-safety reporting. Police covered by POBR (Cal. Gov. Code section 3300 et seq.); firefighters by FBOR (Cal. Gov. Code section 3250 et seq.); all public employees by PEPRA, MMBA, and the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
• Retail workers at Americana at Brand and Glendale Galleria - at the Americana at Brand (Caruso's mixed-use shopping center) and the adjacent Glendale Galleria - one of the largest shopping districts in the Los Angeles region. Retail workers covered by IWC Wage Order 7 (mercantile industry). Fast-food workers at chains with 60+ national locations earn the $20.00/hour AB 1228 floor (Cal. Labor Code section 1474).

Glendale Mass-Layoff Notice Rights

If you were part of a Glendale mass layoff, the California WARN Act (California Labor Code sections 1400 through 1408) requires covered employers with 75 or more workers to give 60 days' advance written notice of a mass layoff of 50 or more employees in any 30-day period, a plant closing, or a relocation. Federal WARN (29 U.S.C. sections 2101-2109) applies to employers with 100+ employees. Damages: up to 60 days of back pay and benefits, plus an additional civil penalty of up to $500 per day under federal WARN if notice is not given to the local government. SB 617 (effective January 1, 2026) expanded the required notice content. Glendale animation studios (DreamWorks, Walt Disney Imagineering) have periodically faced major industry restructuring. The Animation Guild (TAG / IATSE Local 839) is the primary union for Glendale animation workers, and IATSE / SAG-AFTRA / WGA / DGA collective bargaining agreements govern most creative roles.

California Law

For the full California framework, including Tameny, Labor Code section 1102.5, FEHA, Cal-WARN, and public-employee due-process rights, see our California employment law page.

What Compensation Can You Recover

Back pay, front pay (or reinstatement where appropriate), emotional-distress damages, punitive damages (unlimited under FEHA and under the Tameny tort), 60-day Cal-WARN back-pay damages where applicable, and attorneys' fees and costs (Cal. Government Code section 12965(c); Labor Code section 1102.5(j)). For details, see our California employment law page.

How to File a Wrongful Termination Claim in Glendale

FEHA charges go to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), Los Angeles Office, 320 West 4th Street, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Federal charges go to the EEOC Los Angeles District Office, 255 East Temple Street, 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Whistleblower and wage claims can be filed with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE Van Nuys Office, 6150 Van Nuys Boulevard, Room 100, Van Nuys, CA 91401). Civil suits are heard at the Los Angeles County Superior Court - Glendale Courthouse, 600 East Broadway, Glendale, CA 91206 (North Central District; the Burbank Courthouse at 300 East Olive Avenue also serves the area). Call us at 1-800-371-3088 before any deadline.