Wrongful Termination Lawyer in San Francisco

If you experienced wrongful termination at a San Francisco 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 San Francisco

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 SF 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). San Francisco workers laid off as part of a mass layoff should also check Cal-WARN compliance.

San Francisco Industries Where Wrongful Termination Claims Are Most Common

• Tech workers - at Salesforce, Uber, Lyft, OpenAI, X/Twitter, Airbnb, Block, Pinterest, Reddit, Stripe, and LinkedIn. The leading recent SF mass-layoff case is Cornet v. Twitter, Inc., N.D. Cal. No. 3:22-cv-06857, a WARN Act class action arising from the November 2022 Twitter mass layoff under Elon Musk.
• Healthcare workers - at UCSF, CPMC/Sutter, Kaiser SF, Dignity Health Saint Francis and St. Mary's, Chinese Hospital, and ZSFG. Common pattern: termination after the worker reports patient-safety concerns under California Health and Safety Code section 1278.5 ($25,000-per-violation civil penalty for retaliation).
• Hospitality workers - at Hilton Union Square, Marriott Marquis, Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, Fairmont, Westin St. Francis, Four Seasons, and Ritz-Carlton.
• Public-sector workers - at the City and County of San Francisco, SFUSD, SFMTA, BART, CCSF, and UCSF. Public employees have pre-deprivation due-process rights under Skelly v. State Personnel Board (1975) 15 Cal.3d 194 and California Whistleblower Protection Act coverage under Cal. Government Code section 8547. 6-month Government Claims Act deadline (Cal. Government Code section 911.2) applies to parallel tort claims.
• Financial-services workers - at Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, Visa, BlackRock, Bank of the West, and First Republic / JPMorgan.

San Francisco Mass-Layoff Notice Rights

If you were part of an SF mass layoff (particularly in the tech sector), 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. Cornet v. Twitter, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 3:22-cv-06857) is the leading recent SF example.

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 San Francisco

FEHA charges go to the CRD - statewide intake (800) 884-1684. Federal charges go to the EEOC San Francisco District Office, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. Whistleblower and wage claims can be filed with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE San Francisco, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, 9th Floor, Suite 9628, (415) 703-5300). Civil suits are heard at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 (Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco). Call us at 1-800-371-3088 before any deadline.