Yes, in many situations. The general rule in California is that employees are considered to employed “at will,” meaning that they may be fired at any time by their employers, for any reason or for no reason at all. However, there are important exceptions to the “at will” rule. The most common exceptions to the “employment at will” rule are:
1.An oral or written contract (such as a collective bargaining agreement between a union and an employer) specifying that an employee cannot be fired without “good cause.”
2.An “implied contract” specifying that an employee cannot be fired without “good cause.”
3.A termination that violates a particular public policy, such as a “whistleblowing” law or a law against discrimination.
4.A termination after a reasonable reliance on the employer’s job offer when the employer knows the employee has had to quit another job, leave school, move closer to the job, etc. to take the new job.