Fresno Wrongful Termination Attorney

Wrongful termination occurs when an employer fires an employee in violation of the law. While California is an “at-will” employment state—meaning employers can terminate employees at any time for almost any reason—there are clear legal exceptions. If your termination violated public policy, anti-discrimination laws, contract terms, or whistleblower protections, it may be considered wrongful.

Common illegal reasons for termination include:

• Discrimination based on race, gender, age (40+), religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected categories
• Retaliation for reporting harassment, wage violations, unsafe conditions, or illegal conduct
• Violation of employment contracts, including breaches of good faith and fair dealing
• Termination after taking protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
• Whistleblower retaliation for reporting violations of law to a government agency or internal authority

If your employer let you go for any of these reasons, you may have a claim for wrongful termination under California law.

Your rights as a worker

Employees in your area are protected under both California and federal laws. Local industries such as agriculture, logistics, education, public service, and healthcare are heavily regulated and employers in these sectors must comply with state labor laws and workplace protections.

Whether you worked for Fresno Unified School District, Community Regional Medical Center, a warehouse off Highway 99, or a Central Valley farm, your employer has a legal obligation not to fire you for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons.

There are many instances that should ring the alarm to call a Fresno wrongful termination lawyer. However, some come hypotheticals include:

• You were fired because he/she refused to violate a law, statute, or other regulation. This includes refusing to do something illegal.
• You werediscriminatedbecause of age, race, national origin, gender, disability, religion, pregnancy, other illegal reasons
• You were retaliated against for reporting or complaining about sexual harassment, discrimination, or rest and meal break laws.
• You were retaliated against for complaining about or “whistle-blowing” on violations of the law, including violations of workplace safety regulations or wage-and-hour violations
• You were fired for taking Family or Medical Leave

Examples of wrongful termination cases we handle

At Miracle Mile Law Group, we regularly represent workers who have been wrongfully terminated for:

• Reporting wage theft or overtime violations
• Refusing to engage in illegal activity
• Filing a complaint about sexual harassment
• Taking time off to care for a family member or a medical condition
• Being pregnant or requesting accommodations
• Speaking up about workplace safety hazards
• Being fired after turning 50 or disclosing a disability

If any of these situations sound familiar, speak to a wrongful termination lawyer near you to explore your legal options.

If your case is successful, you may be entitled to:

• Back pay and lost wages
• Future earnings if your career was derailed
• Benefits such as healthcare or retirement contributions
• Emotional distress damages for anxiety, depression, or reputational harm
• Punitive damages in cases involving malicious or egregious employer misconduct
• Reinstatement, if returning to your job is appropriate

Our goal is to secure the maximum possible recovery for Fresno workers who were wrongfully fired.

If you were let go from your job because of your race, gender, age (40 or older), religion, disability, pregnancy, or sexual orientation, your termination may be unlawful. Both California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and federal civil rights laws make it illegal for employers to fire someone based on protected characteristics. Discrimination-based terminations are not always openly admitted. In many cases, it shows up as a sudden drop in how you’re treated after disclosing a pregnancy, requesting disability accommodation, or speaking about your religious needs. You might have noticed shifts in your assignments, poor evaluations that don’t match your work, or exclusion from meetings, followed by termination.

Even in an at-will employment state like California, you cannot be fired for who you are. Local employers, whether in healthcare, agriculture, public service, or retail, are legally required to treat workers equally and fairly. Firing someone for a discriminatory reason is a violation of the law. At Miracle Mile Law Group, our local employment attorneys help employees in your area who have lost their jobs due to discrimination. We understand the signs, know how to investigate employer behavior, and can help you pursue a legal claim to recover lost wages and hold your employer accountable.

If you were fired shortly after reporting illegal behavior at work, your employer may have violated California’s retaliation laws. State and federal laws protect workers near you and throughout the Central Valley who take a stand against harassment, wage theft, unsafe conditions, or other misconduct. When an employer punishes you for speaking up, that’s not just unfair, it’s wrongful termination.

Retaliation can happen even if you were simply doing what the law encourages:

• Reporting illegal conduct to a manager, HR, or a state agency
• Filing a complaint with Cal/OSHA, the Labor Commissioner, or the EEOC
• Helping a coworker in an investigation related to harassment, discrimination, or labor violations
• Requesting time off under California’s Family Rights Act or the federal FMLA
• Taking protected leave for military service, voting, or jury duty

If you live or work in the Fresno area, retaliation may not be obvious at first. Employers often mask it with excuses like “downsizing,” “policy violations,” or “performance concerns.” But if you were fired soon after raising a valid concern, those excuses may not hold up. Timing, sudden changes in how you were treated, and lack of prior discipline can all support a legal claim.

While most workers in California are considered “at-will” employees and can be fired without cause, exceptions apply when a written or implied employment contract is in place. If your employer terminated you in a way that breached the terms of your agreement, that may qualify as wrongful termination under California law.

A valid employment contract—whether formally signed or implied through verbal assurances, employee handbooks, or a consistent course of conduct—can limit your employer’s ability to fire you without cause. This is especially common in Fresno-area jobs that involve professional services, healthcare, tech, sales, executive roles, or union labor, where formal employment agreements often set the conditions for hiring, discipline, and termination.

Examples of contract violations that may support a wrongful termination claim include:

• Firing without “just cause” when your contract requires a legitimate reason

• Ending your employment before a guaranteed term is complete

• Skipping required steps in a progressive discipline policy

• Failing to pay bonuses, commissions, severance, or other contractually promised compensation

• Terminating you in bad faith, such as replacing you before your contract expires to avoid paying out benefits

California courts recognize both written and implied contracts when determining whether a wrongful termination occurred. In fact, the California Supreme Court has ruled that employers cannot terminate someone in bad faith simply to avoid obligations spelled out in a contract (Foley v. Interactive Data Corp.).

If you’re a professional or union worker in or near Fresno and believe your termination violated the terms of your employment agreement, Miracle Mile Law Group can help you understand your rights. We regularly review employment contracts and build strong legal cases for clients who were wrongfully let go in breach of those terms.