Santa Monica Wrongful Termination Lawyer

Trusted Wrongful Termination Attorney in Santa Monica, CA

What a Santa Monica Wrongful Termination Comes Down To

Losing a job rarely comes with a full explanation. An official reason like restructuring or performance may be given, but timing often raises questions… especially when a firing follows a medical leave, injury, accommodation request, or workplace complaint. The legal question comes down to whether the employer’s stated reason matches what actually happened.

Emanuel Shirazi spent years inside major employer defense firms before switching sides to represent workers. As a Santa Monica wrongful termination attorney, he uses that background to evaluate the facts behind a termination and help employees understand where their rights stand. Because wrongful termination is a violation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, specific administrative procedures and filing deadlines apply.

Employment Terminations We Investigate for Santa Monica Workers

We look into terminations across Santa Monica, the Westside, and greater Los Angeles County that carry the marks of discrimination or retaliation, including:

• Disability and medical leave terminations: losing your job during or right after a protected medical leave or a request for reasonable accommodation.  If you were fired after taking time off, a Santa Monica FMLA lawyer can review whether your leave rights were violated.
• Pregnancy and reproductive health terminations: being pushed out during or after a pregnancy, a related medical condition, or postpartum recovery.
• Retaliation terminations: getting fired after reporting harassment, wage violations, safety concerns, or discrimination to HR or a supervisor.
• Whistleblower terminations: losing a job after reporting a legal violation to a supervisor, regulator, or government agency.
• Age and disability-based layoffs: being selected for a layoff in a way that lines up more with age or a health condition than performance.
• Constructive discharge: conditions made so difficult that resigning felt like the only real option left.

What a Wrongful Termination Can Cost Beyond the Paycheck

A termination built on discrimination doesn’t just cost you a paycheck. It can follow you into your next job search, cost you months or years of income, and leave you wondering whether speaking up will happen again somewhere else.

California law makes it illegal for an employer to fire someone because of a disability, a pregnancy, a protected leave (Cal. Gov. Code § 12945.2), or a complaint about discrimination (Cal. Gov. Code § 12940), but knowing the law exists and proving what happened inside a company are two different things.

This reflects California law as of September 2026

How We Build a Case Against a Company That Knows How to Defend Itself

Once you reach out, the process is direct.

1. We compare your termination to the reason your employer gave, looking for what doesn’t add up.
2. We collect the medical, HR, and email records that show what was happening before you were let go.
3. We prepare every case as if it is heading to trial, the same way Emanuel Shirazi has approached employment trials in Los Angeles County courts for more than two decades.
4. Shirazi Law Firm, PC handles every conversation with your former employer’s attorneys so you are not doing this while still working, job hunting, or recovering.

Wrongful Termination Questions From Santa Monica Employees

What does it cost to hire a wrongful termination lawyer?

This firm takes wrongful termination cases on a contingency basis, so there is no upfront cost and no invoice while your case is pending. Payment comes out of a settlement or verdict, which means there is no fee unless we win your case. Filing fees are handled separately. Review our past verdicts & settlements to see how contingency-based representation translates into client outcomes.

How long do I have to file a wrongful termination claim?

Most discrimination-based termination claims in California must be filed with the Civil Rights Department within three years of the date you were let go (Cal. Gov. Code § 12960). Missing that window can end a claim permanently, no matter how strong the underlying facts are, so the timeline is worth reviewing well before it closes.

Do I need to talk to a lawyer right now, or can it wait?

Waiting rarely helps. Coworkers change jobs, emails get deleted, and the details that matter most start to blur the longer a case sits untouched. A termination reviewed within weeks usually gives an attorney far more to work with than one reviewed a year later, even when the legal deadline itself is still years away.

What can I recover if my termination was illegal?

Depending on the facts, a wrongful termination case can recover back pay, the future earnings you lost, and compensation for emotional distress, with punitive damages available against the employer in some cases. Attorney’s fees are also generally recoverable under California law when a discrimination claim succeeds, which is part of why these cases are typically handled without any upfront cost to the employee.

If your situation doesn’t fit neatly into any of the questions above, that is normal. Walk us through what happened in Santa Monica and we will tell you what your options can look like.

Talk to a Santa Monica Wrongful Termination Lawyer Before You Decide Anything

You do not need to have this figured out before you reach out. Contact our team today and tell us what happened, in your own words, no matter how it might sound out loud.