Wrongful Termination Lawyer in Riverside

If you experienced wrongful termination at a Riverside workplace, you have strong protections under California law. We represent employees only, never employers, and offer a free, confidential consultation. 1-800-371-3088.

What Is Wrongful Termination in Riverside

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 Riverside 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).

Riverside Industries Where Wrongful Termination Claims Are Most Common

• Healthcare workers - at Riverside Community Hospital / HCA Healthcare (4445 Magnolia Avenue - 517-licensed-bed full-service acute care hospital founded in 1901, recognized as one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals; part of HCA Healthcare, NYSE: HCA) and Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center (10800 Magnolia Avenue - in the middle of a major expansion to 359 beds with a new five-story 152-bed tower). Covered by SB 525 healthcare worker minimum-wage schedule (California Labor Code sections 1182.14, 1182.15, 1182.16) and California Health and Safety Code section 1278.5 ($25,000-per-violation civil penalty for patient-safety retaliation). HCA employees also have Sarbanes-Oxley (18 U.S.C. section 1514A) whistleblower protections.
• Higher-education workers - at the University of California, Riverside / UCR (900 University Avenue - one of 10 UC campuses, ~26,000 students; faculty and staff are UC employees covered by the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act / HEERA - Cal. Government Code sections 3560-3599 - with collective bargaining through CFA, CSUEU, Teamsters Local 2010, and other unions; protected by Skelly v. State Personnel Board (1975) 15 Cal.3d 194 due-process rights and California Whistleblower Protection Act, Cal. Government Code section 8547; UCR claims go to the Regents of the University of California).
• K-12 and community-college workers - at Riverside Unified School District / RUSD (48 schools, approximately 2,332 employees per LinkedIn, 1,676 classroom teachers; 15th-17th largest district in California) and Riverside Community College District / RCCD (district office at 3801 Market Street; operates Riverside City College at 4800 Magnolia Avenue plus Moreno Valley College and Norco College). Protected by Skelly due-process rights and California Whistleblower Protection Act.
• Warehouse and logistics workers (Inland Empire core) - across Riverside's warehouse and distribution corridors. Riverside sits at the heart of the Inland Empire logistics cluster - the largest warehouse market in the United States by square footage - served by Interstates 215, 91, 60, and 10. Covered by California's Warehouse Quotas Act, AB 701 (California Labor Code sections 2100-2112), client-employer liability under Labor Code section 2810.3, port-drayage protection under Labor Code section 2810.4 (for drayage to/from Ports of LA / Long Beach), and piece-rate compensation under Labor Code section 226.2.
• Public-sector workers - at the City of Riverside (3900 Main Street - charter city since 1883; includes Riverside Police Department, Riverside Fire Department, and Riverside Public Utilities), the County of Riverside (county seat - thousands of social workers, prosecutors, public defenders, sheriff's deputies, probation officers, public health workers), the Riverside Hall of Justice (4100 Main Street), the George E. Brown Jr. Federal Building / U.S. District Court Eastern Division (3470 12th Street), and March Air Reserve Base (Air Force Reserve - 6,500-acre installation between Riverside and Moreno Valley; federal civilian employees have separate Title 5 / MSPB remedies). Public-safety personnel covered by POBR (Cal. Gov. Code section 3300 et seq.).
• Retail, hospitality, and small-business workers - at the Galleria at Tyler (1299 Galleria at Tyler - major regional mall), the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa (3649 Mission Inn Avenue - one of California's most historic hotels), Riverside Plaza, and along Magnolia Avenue, University Avenue, and Van Buren Boulevard. Fast-food workers at chains with 60 or more national locations earn the $20.00/hour AB 1228 floor (California Labor Code section 1474).

Riverside Mass-Layoff Notice Rights

If you were part of a Riverside 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.

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 Riverside

FEHA charges go to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), 320 W. 4th Street, Suite 1000, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Federal charges go to the EEOC Los Angeles District Office, Roybal Federal Building, 255 East Temple Street, 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Whistleblower and wage claims can be filed with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE Riverside Office, 3737 Main Street, Suite 300, Riverside, CA 92501). Civil suits are heard at the Riverside County Superior Court, Hall of Justice, 4100 Main Street, Riverside, CA 92501. Call us at 1-800-371-3088 before any deadline.