Guides · 14 October 2026

Fired in California: what to do in the first 90 days

By Neva Cirkveni · 14 October 2026

The 90-day clock

Set the clock

The day you were let go

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Losing a job is a shock even when you saw it coming. The instinct is to either walk out and never think about it again, or to fire off an email you'll regret. Neither helps. California gives employees more protection than almost any other state, but most of it only works if you do a few specific things early. This is the list.

Scene one

Day one: your final paycheck is due now

Interior. The parking garage, level 3. The box is heavier than it looks.

If you were fired, California law says your final wages are due immediately — that day, at the place you were let go. That means everything: wages through your last hour, unpaid overtime, and any vacation or PTO you've built up, which in California is earned wages and cannot be forfeited. If you quit without notice, the employer has 72 hours. If you gave at least 72 hours' notice, it's due on your last day.

If the money is late, the law adds a penalty: a day of your wages for every day it's late, up to 30 days. Employers who "process it with the next payroll" are often on the hook for that penalty without realising it. Keep the pay stub and note the date you actually received it.

Scene two

The first week: write it down and ask for the file

Interior. Your kitchen table, 11:40 p.m. The laptop is open to a blank page.

Write a timeline while it's fresh. When were you hired, who did you report to, what were you told and by whom, what happened in the weeks before — any complaint you made, leave you took, injury you reported, raise you asked for. Dates matter more than you'd think, because in a wrongful termination case the question is usually "why now?"

Then make two written requests, by email so there's a record. One: your personnel file. California requires your employer to let you inspect and copy it within 30 days of asking. Two: your payroll records — pay stubs and time records — within 21 days. You are also entitled to a copy of anything you signed. You don't have to explain why you want them.

What not to do: don't take or forward confidential company documents, customer lists or anything covered by an agreement you signed. It can turn a strong case into a messy one. Tell your lawyer what exists; there is a proper way to get it.

Scene three

The first week, continued: file for unemployment

Exterior. A bus stop on Olympic. The EDD website loads slowly on a phone.

File with the Employment Development Department (EDD) straight away; benefits start from the week you file, not the week you were fired. Being fired doesn't disqualify you — only being fired for serious misconduct does, and the employer has to show it. If you're told you resigned when you didn't, say so on the form.

Also check your health cover. If your employer had 20 or more employees, you have 60 days to elect COBRA and keep the same plan at your own cost; smaller employers come under Cal-COBRA. Missing the window is expensive.

Scene four

Before you sign anything: the severance agreement

Interior. A coffee shop in Century City. The envelope says 'Confidential'.

A severance offer usually comes with a release: you take the money and give up the right to sue. Sometimes that's a good trade. Sometimes it's a fraction of what the claim is worth, and the employer knows it. Three rules.

Never sign the same day. California law requires your employer to tell you that you have the right to consult a lawyer and to give you at least five business days to do it. If you're 40 or over, federal law gives you 21 days and the right to change your mind for seven days after signing.

Read what it says you can't say. California limits what a release can silence — you can't be stopped from talking about harassment, discrimination or other unlawful conduct at work — and an agreement that tries to goes too far.

Get it reviewed. A fixed-fee review of a severance agreement is one of the most useful things a lawyer does, because the cost is known in advance and the upside is often the difference between the first offer and a fair one.

Scene five

The first month: the clocks that are running

Interior. A hallway at night. Somewhere, a clock you can hear but can't see.

California deadlines for employment claims are generous compared to most states, but they are real.

Discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act must first be filed with the state's Civil Rights Department, generally within three years of the firing. Wrongful termination in violation of public policy — fired for refusing to do something illegal, or for reporting it — generally has two years. Unpaid wages, overtime and break claims have three years, and some can reach back four.

Those are the outer limits. What actually decides cases is evidence, and evidence fades: co-workers move on, phones are replaced, memories soften. A lawyer who sees the facts in month one can do things that are impossible in year two.

Scene six

By day 90: know where you stand

Exterior. Avenue of the Stars, early morning. The rain has stopped.

By three months in, you should know three things: whether you were paid everything you were owed, whether the reason you were given holds up, and whether the timing — what happened just before the firing — points to something the law protects. If all three come back clean, you move on with a clear head. If any one of them doesn't, you have a decision to make, and you'll make it with time on your side.