Employment Law
Make sure you receive your final paycheck, which California law says is due immediately when you are fired. Then ask in writing for your personnel file and payroll records, apply for unemployment benefits, and do not sign a severance agreement or release until you understand what it gives up. Write down what happened while it is fresh, because some deadlines start running right away.
Last updated October 4, 2026.
Losing a job is stressful, and the first few days are when people most often lose track of paperwork, deadlines and money they are owed. This checklist is written for employees in Glendale and across California. For the bigger picture of your rights at work, see our employment law page. For a short overview, read 5 employee rights every Californian should know.
When an employer discharges an employee, the wages earned and unpaid at the time of discharge are due immediately (Labor Code section 201). The Labor Commissioner's guidance adds that this includes accrued vacation, and that the place of payment for a fired or laid off employee is the place of termination. Vested vacation must be paid out at your final rate of pay, and a policy cannot make you forfeit it (Labor Code section 227.3).
If part of the amount is disputed, the Labor Commissioner says the employer must still pay the undisputed wages without requiring a release (Labor Code section 206). An employer that willfully pays final wages late owes a penalty of up to 30 days of wages (Labor Code section 203), so note the date you were let go and the date you were paid. We explain how that penalty is counted on our page about when your final paycheck is due in California.
Your own records are often the most important evidence in a firing or pay dispute. California gives current and former employees the right to see and copy them. Send your requests in writing, keep a copy, and note the date you sent them.
| Record | How to ask | Deadline for the employer | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel file (performance records, education or training records, grievances) | Written request, or the employer's form | 30 calendar days (up to 35 if both sides agree in writing) | Lab. Code 1198.5(b) |
| Payroll records (pay stubs, hours, deductions) | Written or oral request | 21 calendar days | Lab. Code 226(b), (c) |
| Anything you signed to get or keep the job, such as an offer letter, arbitration agreement or handbook acknowledgment | Request a copy | Must be given on request | Lab. Code 432 |
If the employer misses the deadline, you or the Labor Commissioner can recover a $750 penalty for the personnel file (Labor Code section 1198.5(k)) and a separate $750 penalty for payroll records (Labor Code section 226(f)). An employer only has to honor one personnel file request per year from a former employee (section 1198.5(d)), and the right to inspect or copy the file stops while a lawsuit about a personnel matter is pending (section 1198.5(n)), so it usually makes sense to ask before any case is filed. Employers must keep personnel records for at least three years after employment ends (section 1198.5(c)(1)). Our page on how to get your personnel file and payroll records explains what to put in the request.
Often, yes. The EDD says that even if you quit, were fired, or were wrongly classified as an independent contractor, you may still qualify, and there is no penalty for applying. Under Unemployment Insurance Code section 1256, a person discharged for misconduct connected with the work is disqualified, but the law presumes a discharge was for reasons other than misconduct unless the employer gives the EDD written notice with facts that overcome that presumption.
The EDD lists benefits of $40 to $450 a week, depending on what you earned over the past 18 months, and says it takes about three weeks to process an application and make the first payment. You must also be able to work, available for work, and looking for work each week. Apply early and keep copies of what you submit.
Not before you understand it. Under Government Code section 12964.5(b)(4), an employer that offers a separation agreement must tell you that you have the right to consult an attorney about it and must give you a reasonable time of at least five business days to do so. A separation agreement can include a general release of claims if it is otherwise lawful and valid (section 12964.5(b)(3)). However, it cannot stop you from disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, and any nondisparagement clause must include specific language saying so (section 12964.5(b)(1)). Once a release is signed it can be very hard to undo. Our page on whether to sign a severance agreement in California explains what a release can and cannot take away.
Several clocks may already be running. A complaint to the California Civil Rights Department about discrimination, harassment or retaliation must start with an intake form within three years of the last harmful act (Government Code section 12960). A complaint to the Labor Commissioner that you were fired for asserting rights it enforces, such as complaining about unpaid wages, must be filed within one year (Labor Code section 98.7). Wage claims have their own limits of one to four years. Our page on how long you have to file an employment claim in California puts them in one table. If you believe the firing was discriminatory, read how to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department.
The Labor Commissioner's waiting time guidance treats a layoff as a discharge, so final pay is due immediately, with narrow industry exceptions such as seasonal food processing. If you quit without notice, the employer has 72 hours (Labor Code section 202). And if you give two weeks' notice and are told to leave that day, the Labor Commissioner says the quit has become a discharge, so all earned wages are due at once.
The section 203 penalty applies only to a willful failure to pay. The Labor Commissioner says a good faith dispute about the wages owed prevents the penalty, but a defense that is unsupported, unreasonable or raised in bad faith does not count. Our page on wage violation penalties in California lists other amounts that may be added to unpaid wages.
Labor Code section 98.6 bars firing an employee for complaining about unpaid wages. If the employer acts within 90 days of that complaint, the law presumes the employee's claim is valid unless the employer rebuts it (section 98.6(b)(1)). Our page on wrongful termination in violation of public policy covers other protected reasons, including jury service under Government Code section 12945.8.
A firing linked to medical leave, disability, pregnancy, age or another protected characteristic is a Civil Rights Department matter under Government Code section 12960. Our page on being fired after asking for medical leave or an accommodation covers what the employer was required to do.
For example, imagine a hypothetical warehouse lead in Glendale who is fired on a Monday, three weeks after telling a manager in writing that he was owed unpaid overtime. He is told his final check will come on the next regular payday, and he is handed a separation agreement offering two weeks of pay for a general release, to be signed by Wednesday.
His wages and accrued vacation were due on Monday, so a willful delay may add a waiting time penalty. Wednesday is less than five business days away, short of what section 12964.5(b)(4) requires. Because the firing came within 90 days of his written wage complaint, section 98.6 would presume retaliation, and he has one year to file with the Labor Commissioner. On Tuesday he requests his records in writing, applies to the EDD and writes out a timeline. None of this tells him what a claim is worth or whether to sign; it tells him which clocks are running.
No. The Labor Commissioner says payment of the wages or the start of a court action stops the penalty, and that filing a claim with its office does not. The penalty still cannot exceed 30 calendar days of wages under section 203.
If you give at least 72 hours' notice, final wages are due on your last day; without notice, the employer has 72 hours (Labor Code section 202). If you quit without notice, you can ask for the check to be mailed to an address you choose.
A firing within 90 days of a wage complaint is presumed retaliatory under section 98.6 unless the employer rebuts it. A retaliation complaint to the Labor Commissioner must be filed within one year under section 98.7.
Both are possible, and the choice depends on the amount, the other claims involved and how quickly you need a result. Our comparison of a Labor Commissioner wage claim and a lawsuit walks through the trade-offs.
The EDD says workers wrongly classified as independent contractors may still qualify, so apply. Our page on whether you are an employee or an independent contractor explains the test.
We represent employees throughout Glendale and across California. In the first conversation we look at the timing of the termination, the reasons the employer gave, and the documents around it, and we can help you request your records, review a severance offer, and identify which deadlines apply. Every case depends on its facts, and no result can be promised, but early advice often keeps options open that would otherwise close. Our Glendale employment lawyer page covers the local agencies and courts. Call our Glendale office at (818) 244-9000 or request a consultation online.
Talk with our Glendale team about your final pay, your records and the deadlines that may already be running.
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