Employment claims are lost on the calendar more often than on the facts, and the calendar is not the one people assume. There is no single two-year deadline here. There are two separate clocks, they run one after the other, and missing either one ends the claim regardless of what happened to you.
The first is three years, and it is not a lawsuit. Under Government Code 12960, a complaint to California’s Civil Rights Department “shall not be filed after the expiration of three years from the date upon which the unlawful practice or refusal to cooperate occurred.” Filing with the department is the step that has to happen first. Going straight to court without it is the most common way one of these claims dies before anyone reads it.
The second is one year, and it starts when the first ends. Under Government Code 12965, once a right-to-sue notice is issued, “a civil action shall be brought, if at all, within one year” from the date of that notice. A right-to-sue letter is not a formality to file away. It starts a twelve-month clock.
What Culver Legal does here, plainly. We will review what happened to you, tell you which of those clocks you are on, and either take the matter or refer it to a firm that handles this work. We will tell you which at the outset rather than after you have waited. The review costs nothing either way. Call (310) 600-7881 at any hour.
The Two Clocks, Side by Side
| Step | Deadline | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| File a complaint with the Civil Rights Department | 3 years | The date the unlawful practice occurred |
| File a civil action after a right-to-sue notice | 1 year | The date of the notice |
Two things people get wrong about this.
The three years runs from the act, not from when you understood it. A pattern of conduct raises harder questions about when the clock started, and those are worth asking early rather than assuming the answer.
A right-to-sue notice can be requested rather than waited for. People often sit on one believing it is the department’s decision to act, while the twelve months runs.
What the First Step Actually Involves
Worth knowing, because “file a complaint with the department” sounds heavier than it is and the weight of it stops people starting.
The Civil Rights Department is the state body that handles these complaints. Filing with it is an administrative step rather than a court case: there are no filing fees, no hearing to attend at that stage, and no lawyer is required to do it. The department may investigate, and it may offer to mediate between you and the employer.
Two things about that step matter more than the form itself. It is what preserves the claim, so it has to happen inside the three years whatever else is going on. And it produces a right-to-sue notice, which is the document that lets a civil action be filed at all, and which starts the second clock on the day it is dated.
A federal route exists alongside it through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, with its own deadlines that are generally shorter than California’s. Where both might apply, which one you use is a decision to take early rather than discover late.
What Is and Is Not an Employment Claim
Worth separating, because the two routes are different and a reader in the second group is in the right place.
Employment matters run through the process above: discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour disputes, and failure to accommodate a disability. These are the claims the three-year and one-year clocks govern.
A physical injury at work is not an employment claim, and it runs on an entirely different track. If you were hurt on the job, that is a workers compensation claim, and usually a third-party injury claim alongside it against whoever caused the injury. That second claim covers pain and suffering, which compensation does not, and it is the work this firm does. On a site it is a construction accident claim; in a vehicle it is a car or commercial vehicle claim; on unsafe premises it is a premises claim.
Retaliation for making an injury claim sits across both. Being punished for reporting an injury or filing for compensation is an employment matter with its own protections, even though the injury itself is not.
Do you know which of the two clocks you are on?
Three years to the department, then one year from a right-to-sue notice. We will tell you in a phone call.
What Is Worth Keeping, Starting Now
Whoever ends up handling the matter, the evidence problem is the same and it gets worse with time.
Anything in writing, kept somewhere that is not your work account. Email, messages, written notes of meetings, the schedule, the written warning. Access to a work account is normally cut off the day employment ends, and people lose their own record along with it.
A contemporaneous note of each incident. What was said, by whom, in front of whom, and when. A note written on the day carries weight that a recollection written a year later does not.
Your own copies of the paperwork: contract, handbook, reviews, any warnings, the termination letter, and pay records.
The names of anyone who saw it. Colleagues move on and become difficult to find, and their account is often the difference between an allegation and a claim.
How Long Do I Have?
Three years to file with the Civil Rights Department, under Government Code 12960.
One year to file a civil action from the date of a right-to-sue notice, under Government Code 12965.
A public employer changes things again. Where the employer is a city, a county, a school district or another public entity, a claim may also need to be presented under Government Code 911.2 within six months. That is a third clock, it is the shortest of them, and it is the one most often missed.
Has a right-to-sue notice already been issued?
That letter starts a twelve-month deadline on the day it is dated. It is not a formality.
Why Bakersfield Clients Call Culver Legal First
We tell you where you stand, including when it is not us. If your matter needs an employment specialist we will say so and point you to one rather than holding onto it. That is a faster answer than most people get.
We come to you. If you are in the hospital, at home and unable to drive, or a long way out in the county, we will meet you where you are.
Our team speaks Spanish, Farsi, Filipino, Hindi, Mandarin and Korean. Explaining what happened at work in your own words is not a convenience.
The economics are simple. For the injury work this firm does, we act on contingency and advance the costs of the case, so there is nothing to pay up front and no fee unless we win. We advance the case costs, and if there is no recovery you are not charged those costs either.
Bakersfield Employment FAQs
How long do I have to bring an employment claim in California?
Two deadlines, in sequence. Government Code 12960 gives you three years from the date of the unlawful practice to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department. Government Code 12965 then gives you one year from the date of a right-to-sue notice to file a civil action. Missing either one ends the claim.
Can I go straight to court?
Generally no. The complaint to the Civil Rights Department comes first, and the right-to-sue notice is what opens the courthouse door. Going to court without it is one of the most common ways a valid employment claim is lost.
I have had a right-to-sue letter and done nothing with it. Is it too late?
It depends on the date on the letter. A civil action has to be brought within one year of it. If that date is approaching, say so when you call, because it changes what can usefully be done.
Does Culver Legal handle employment cases?
We will review what happened, tell you which deadlines apply, and either handle the matter or refer it to a firm that specializes in this area. We will tell you which at the start rather than after you have waited. The firm’s own litigation practice is personal injury.
I was hurt at work. Is that an employment claim?
No, it runs on a different track. A workplace injury is a workers compensation claim, and usually a separate injury claim against whoever caused it, which is work this firm does handle. Being retaliated against for making that claim is a separate employment issue.
Contact Culver Legal About a Bakersfield Employment Matter
The three-year and one-year deadlines run whether or not anyone has explained them to you, and a right-to-sue notice sitting in a drawer is already counting down. If something has happened to you at work in Bakersfield or Kern County, reach us at (310) 600-7881, at any hour. We will tell you where you stand and who should handle it. The review costs nothing.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Culver Legal, LLP is a California law firm. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
