Los Angeles Employment Lawyer | Feher Law
- Top Rated Trial Firm
- Over $170 Million Recovered For Clients
- No Fees Unless We Win
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If your employer in Los Angeles fired, demoted, harassed, or underpaid you, California law protects you more than most workers realize, and Feher Law handles these cases on contingency. You pay nothing unless we win. We represent workers, not employers, and our firm has recovered more than $170 million for clients, including seven-figure employment results for Los Angeles workers.
This page is the starting point for Los Angeles employees. It explains the main types of employment claims, the California laws behind them, the deadlines that apply, and where to find our detailed guide for your situation. For a statewide overview, see our California employment lawyers page.
Key Takeaways
- California is an at-will employment state under Labor Code 2922, but employers cannot fire or punish workers for illegal reasons such as discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing, or taking protected leave (Labor Code 1102.5)
- The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) covers employers with 5 or more employees, and its harassment protections apply to every employer, regardless of size
- Deadlines are short: FEHA claims go to the Civil Rights Department (CRD) within 3 years (Government Code 12960), federal EEOC charges generally within 300 days, and public-policy wrongful termination suits within 2 years (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1)
- Remedies can include back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages (Civil Code 3294), and attorney fees
- Feher Law works on contingency under a written agreement as Business and Professions Code 6147 requires: no upfront fees and no payment unless we win
Why Los Angeles Workers Choose Feher Law
Hiring a lawyer after a workplace violation is a big decision. Here is what you can expect from us:
- Workers only: We represent employees, so no part of our practice is built around defending employers.
- Trial experience: Our trial team has taken more than 50 cases to jury verdict, which gives employers a real reason to take your claim seriously in negotiations.
- Los Angeles results: Our Los Angeles employment results include a $4,000,000 harassment settlement, a $3,500,000 disability discrimination settlement, and a $1,400,000 wrongful termination settlement. See them in Los Angeles Employment Results below.
- Clear communication: We explain your options, your deadlines, and what a realistic outcome looks like before you decide anything.
Verdicts & Settlements
$170M+ Recovered for California Workers & Injury Victims
Real case outcomes from Feher Law across personal injury and employment matters, resolved under California law.
See what your case could be worth.
Free, confidential case assessment. Available 24/7.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is evaluated on its specific facts under California law. View full results on our Case Results page.
Why Acting Fast Protects Your Case
California sets deadlines for employment claims, and most are measured in months or a few years. Once a deadline passes, your claim can be lost no matter how strong it is.
Waiting also weakens your case in practical ways:
- Emails, chat messages, and internal records can be deleted under routine retention policies
- Coworkers who saw what happened change jobs or forget details
- Your own notes and timeline lose detail the longer you wait
- An employer who expects a complaint may start documenting performance problems after the fact
Free consultations. No fee unless we win.
What Our Clients Say
Why California Clients Choose Feher Law
Super Lawyers 2022-2026 | Avvo 10.0 Superb | Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College Graduate
Meet Our Team
Thomas Feher, Esq.
Founding Attorney
Stephen Wiard, Esq.
Senior Trial Attorney
Sandy Luu, Esq.
Associate Attorney
Alex Ballard, Esq.
Associate Attorney
Karen Parra, Esq.
Associate Attorney
Chase Nielsen, Esq.
Associate Attorney
Betsy Gomez
Managing Paralegal
Erica Feher
Chief of Operations
Austin Wallick, Esq.
Associate Attorney
Samantha Marquez
Legal Secretary
Marcela Guzman
Intake Specialist (Employment)
Alejandro Zelaya
Intake Specialist (Personal Injury)
Daniela Ramirez
Litigation Assistant
Marvin Rodriguez
Paralegal
Cassandra De Vera
Law Clerk
What to Expect When You Hire a Los Angeles Employment Lawyer
Step 1 - Free Case Evaluation
Contact Feher Law for a free, confidential consultation. We listen to what happened, review your documents, and give you an honest assessment of whether you have a claim.
Step 2 - Investigation and Evidence Gathering
We collect your personnel file, performance reviews, pay records, emails, and witness information, and we identify which laws your employer may have violated.
Step 3 - Agency Complaint, Demand, or Both
Many claims, including FEHA discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, require a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) before you can sue. We handle the filing, track every deadline, and send your employer a demand letter where it helps.
Step 4 - Negotiation or Litigation
We negotiate for a fair settlement. If your employer will not offer one, we are prepared to file a lawsuit and take your case to trial.
Step 5 - Resolution and Payment
When your case resolves, our contingency fee comes out of the recovery. You pay nothing out of pocket at any point, and you pay nothing unless we win.
Employment Claims We Handle for Los Angeles Workers
Los Angeles workers hold jobs in every industry, from entertainment and hospitality to healthcare, logistics, retail, and technology. Whatever your industry, the same California laws apply. These are the claims we handle most often, with a dedicated Los Angeles page for each:
- Wrongful termination: fired in violation of a law, an employment contract, or public policy.
- Workplace discrimination: treated worse because of race, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, or another protected trait.
- Sexual harassment: unwelcome conduct, a hostile work environment, or an employer that ignores your complaint.
- Retaliation: punished for complaining, reporting violations, taking protected leave, or taking part in an investigation.
- Employment contracts: broken promises about pay, commissions, bonuses, or severance. Before you sign a severance offer, see our severance agreement review guide.
We also help with unpaid wages and overtime (see our guide to suing an employer for wage theft), refusals to accommodate a disability (failure to accommodate), and constructive discharge, when working conditions are made so bad that you are forced to quit.
Not sure which category fits? Call us and we will sort it out with you. If you work in Huntington Park or nearby, see our Huntington Park employment lawyer page.
California Employment Laws That Protect Los Angeles Workers
These are the main rules behind most Los Angeles employment claims:
- At-will employment has limits: Under Labor Code 2922, either side may end the job at any time, but an employer cannot do it for an illegal reason.
- FEHA: California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected traits including race, sex, age (40 and over), disability, pregnancy, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It covers employers with 5 or more employees, and harassment protections apply to all employers.
- Whistleblower protection: Labor Code 1102.5 bars an employer from retaliating against a worker who reports a suspected violation of law.
- Protected leave: The California Family Rights Act (Government Code 12945.2) gives eligible employees of employers with 5 or more employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, and FEHA also protects pregnancy disability leave.
- Wage and hour law: The Labor Code requires minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, and timely final pay. Unpaid wages are recoverable.
- Contract and public-policy claims: Written or implied employer promises can be enforced, and firing a worker for refusing to break the law violates public policy.
- Remedies: Back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages for malice, oppression, or fraud (Civil Code 3294), and attorney fees in many cases.
Signs Your Rights May Have Been Violated
- You were fired, demoted, or passed over soon after complaining, reporting a problem, or taking leave.
- You were treated differently because of race, gender, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, or another protected trait.
- You were fired against the terms of a written or promised employment agreement.
- You were fired for refusing to do something illegal or for reporting illegal activity.
- You have not been paid all your wages, overtime, or final paycheck.
Why Hire a Los Angeles Employment Lawyer
Employment cases are rarely about one law. A lawyer who works on them every day can protect you in ways that are hard to manage alone:
- Finding every claim: One set of facts can support discrimination, retaliation, and wage claims at the same time. We identify all of them.
- Handling agency procedure: We prepare CRD complaints, obtain right-to-sue notices, and track each deadline.
- Preserving evidence: We send preservation demands and use discovery to obtain personnel files, emails, and internal records.
- Valuing your case: We account for lost pay, lost benefits, emotional distress, and, where the facts support it, punitive damages.
- Negotiating from strength: Employers settle on better terms when they know your lawyer is prepared to try the case.
- Staying with you through trial: If your case does not settle, the same team takes it to a jury.
Where Los Angeles Employment Claims Are Filed
Most employment claims against Los Angeles employers follow one of a few paths:
- California Civil Rights Department (CRD): the starting point for FEHA discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. The CRD issues the right-to-sue notice you need before filing suit.
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): for federal discrimination claims.
- California Labor Commissioner: an option for unpaid wage claims.
- Court: a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, or in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California when federal claims are involved.
Our offices are in Torrance and Huntington Beach, and we represent workers throughout Los Angeles County. For a closer look at timing, read our guide to the wrongful termination statute of limitations and our explanation of the right-to-sue letter.
For guidance on your situation, contact us today for a free consultation.
What to Do If Your Employer Has Violated Your Rights
To protect your claim, take these steps as soon as you can:
- Write down what happened, with dates, times, names, and what was said.
- Keep copies of documents you are entitled to have, such as your offer letter, pay stubs, performance reviews, and any complaints you made.
- Put complaints in writing so there is a record that your employer was notified.
- Do not sign a severance agreement or release before having it reviewed, because it may waive your right to sue.
- Apply for unemployment benefits if you lost your job, to support yourself while your case moves forward.
- Talk to an employment lawyer before a deadline runs. Our consultation is free.
Evidence That Strengthens an Employment Claim
The more you can document, the stronger your position. Useful evidence includes:
- Employment records: offer letter, contract, handbook, and job description.
- Performance reviews and awards: proof that you were doing your job well.
- Emails, texts, and messages: especially from HR or your supervisor about your treatment or your termination.
- Witnesses: coworkers who saw what happened or experienced similar treatment.
- Your complaints and your employer’s response: proof of protected activity and the timing that followed.
- Pay records: pay stubs, schedules, and time records for any wage claim.
- Financial losses: lost wages and benefits, and costs of finding new work.
The EEOC also publishes guidance on what makes a discrimination or retaliation charge strong.
What Could Your Los Angeles Employment Case Be Worth?
If your employer broke the law, you may be entitled to back pay, front pay, damages for emotional distress, punitive damages for serious employer misconduct, and attorney fees. Value depends on factors like how long you worked, your pay, the circumstances of your case, and the strength of your evidence.
Our free calculators give you a starting estimate: the wrongful termination settlement calculator, the discrimination lawsuit settlement calculator, the harassment compensation calculator, and the EEOC settlement calculator. For real-world ranges, read our guide to wrongful termination settlements.
Call Feher Law today at (310) 340-1112 for a free consultation and a personalized evaluation.
Disclaimer: Calculator results are estimates for general information only. They are not legal advice and do not guarantee any outcome, because they cannot account for the specific facts of your case.
What increases value: long tenure, high pay, documented performance reviews, written evidence of the protected conduct (such as complaints to HR or requests for leave), and evidence of a pattern against other employees. What can reduce value: no protected basis for the termination, short tenure, and quickly finding comparable new work.
No Fees Unless We Win
We work on a contingency fee basis. This means that you don’t pay any upfront fees. Instead, our fee is contingent upon winning your case. If we successfully resolve your case and you receive compensation, we will take a percentage of the amount recovered as their fee.Â
We understand that legal fees can be daunting, which is why at Feher Law you will not pay any fees unless you win.Â
Employment Claim Deadlines at a Glance
Deadlines depend on the type of claim and who you file with. These are the most common ones in California. Your facts may change the timing, so confirm with an attorney before you rely on any of them.
| Type of claim | Where it starts | General deadline |
|---|---|---|
| FEHA discrimination, harassment, or retaliation | Complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) | 3 years from the violation to file with the CRD, then 1 year after the right-to-sue notice to file suit |
| Federal discrimination (Title VII, ADA, ADEA) | Charge with the EEOC | Generally 300 days in California |
| Wrongful termination in violation of public policy | Lawsuit in court | 2 years |
| Unpaid wages and overtime | Labor Commissioner claim or lawsuit | Generally 3 years |
| Breach of an employment contract | Lawsuit in court | 4 years for a written contract, 2 years for an oral contract |
Bottom line: Many of these clocks run at the same time, and some start before you realize you have a claim. A Los Angeles employment lawyer can tell you which deadlines apply to you and protect them.
Los Angeles Employment Results
These results come from the employment case results published on our site. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
- $4,000,000 – harassment settlement (wrongful termination), Los Angeles
- $3,500,000 – disability discrimination (wrongful termination), Los Angeles
- $1,400,000 – wrongful termination settlement, Los Angeles
- $1,000,000 – disability discrimination settlement (wrongful termination), Los Angeles
- $800,000 – harassment settlement (wrongful termination), Los Angeles
See more on our case results page.
Other Locations We Serve
Feher Law represents workers throughout Los Angeles County and Southern California. Our offices are in Torrance and Huntington Beach, and these pages cover nearby communities:
- Burbank
- Compton
- Downey
- Glendale
- Inglewood
- Long Beach
- Pasadena
- Santa Monica
Speak to a Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Today
If you work in Los Angeles and believe your employer broke the law, the next step costs nothing. Feher Law will listen to your story, review your documents, and give you clear guidance on your options and your deadlines.
Consultations are free and confidential, and you pay nothing unless we win.
Call (310) 340-1112 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.
Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq. – October 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Los Angeles employment lawyer do?
An employment lawyer represents workers whose rights were violated on the job. That includes investigating what happened, filing complaints with agencies such as the California Civil Rights Department, negotiating with your employer, and taking your case to trial if it does not settle. At Feher Law, we represent employees only.
Can my employer fire me for any reason in California?
No. California is an at-will state, so an employer can usually end employment without giving a reason, but not for an illegal one. Firing you because of a protected trait, because you complained or reported a violation, because you took protected leave, or because you refused to break the law can be unlawful. See our Los Angeles wrongful termination page for details.
How long do I have to file an employment claim in California?
It depends on the claim. FEHA discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims generally must be filed with the California Civil Rights Department within 3 years of the violation. Federal EEOC charges are generally due within 300 days, and public-policy wrongful termination lawsuits within 2 years. See the deadlines table above and call us as soon as possible.
Do I have to file with the Civil Rights Department before I sue?
For FEHA claims, yes. You must file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and receive a right-to-sue notice before you can file a lawsuit in court. We handle that step for you. Read more about the right-to-sue letter.
Do I need to have been fired to have an employment claim?
No. Discrimination, harassment, retaliation, unpaid wages, and denial of leave or accommodation can all support a claim even if you still have your job. If conditions were made so intolerable that you had to quit, you may also have a constructive discharge claim.
What can I recover in a Los Angeles employment case?
Depending on your claim, you may recover back pay, front pay, damages for emotional distress, punitive damages for serious employer misconduct, unpaid wages, and attorney fees. Use our wrongful termination settlement calculator for a starting estimate.
How much does it cost to hire an employment lawyer in Los Angeles?
Nothing upfront. Feher Law handles employment cases on contingency under a written fee agreement, so our fee comes out of any recovery and you pay nothing unless we win. The consultation is free and confidential.
Does Feher Law handle cases in Los Angeles?
Yes. We represent workers throughout Los Angeles County and Southern California. Our offices are in Torrance and Huntington Beach, and you can start with a free consultation by phone at (310) 340-1112.
Other Los Angeles Practice Areas
Feher Law also serves Los Angeles clients in these related practice areas:
- Los Angeles Wrongful Termination Lawyer
- Los Angeles Workplace Discrimination Lawyer
- Los Angeles Sexual Harassment Lawyer
- Los Angeles Retaliation Lawyer
- Los Angeles Employment Contract Attorney
- Huntington Park Employment Lawyer
- Los Angeles Brain Injury Lawyer
- Los Angeles Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
- Los Angeles Amputation Lawyer
- Los Angeles CRPS Lawyer
For a general overview of how we represent Los Angeles County clients across all practice areas, see our Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer page.