- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- - SE HABLA ESPAÑOL
- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- - SE HABLA ESPAÑOL
Fired, harassed, retaliated against, short-paid, or held to a non-compete by a Santa Clarita employer? Mercer Legal Group is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California and represents Santa Clarita workers in wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage claims under California Labor Code, FEHA, and federal employment statutes. Free, confidential case review. SE HABLA ESPAÑOL.
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A Santa Clarita employee dealing with a workplace dispute — discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, wage or overtime issues, or a denied accommodation — has real rights under California law, and stronger ones than the federal floor. The hard part is knowing whether what happened to you is actually actionable, what evidence to preserve, and which deadlines are running. That is where an employment lawyer matters. Contact our Santa Clarita employment lawyers today for a free consultation.
Mercer Legal Group is a California employment law firm that represents workers and only workers — never employers. The firm is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California and serves Santa Clarita and the surrounding Santa Clarita Valley, including Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, and Canyon Country. Every Santa Clarita intake lands on a senior attorney’s desk for an honest read, not a paralegal screen.
Santa Clarita workplaces span the full range of California employment risk — Six Flags Magic Mountain hospitality and entertainment roles, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and Kaiser Permanente healthcare positions, College of the Canyons faculty and staff, Princess Cruises and other corporate offices in Valencia, aerospace and manufacturing in Castaic, and a deep bench of retail, restaurant, and logistics employers along the I-5 corridor. The most common Santa Clarita employment disputes we see fall into a small number of patterns: wrongful termination after raising a complaint, workplace discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, or pregnancy, sexual harassment, retaliation for asserting wage or safety rights, and unpaid overtime tied to misclassification.
California’s protections run deeper than the federal floor. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA, Government Code §12940 et seq.) covers more protected categories and more employer sizes than Title VII. Labor Code §1102.5 protects whistleblowers who report violations internally to a supervisor or manager, not only to government agencies. Labor Code §98.6 prohibits retaliation for asserting any Labor Code right. AB 1076 and Business & Professions Code §16600 generally void post-employment noncompetes in California — a point that matters when a Santa Clarita worker is asked to sign one as part of a job offer or severance.
A lawyer who works California employment cases daily knows the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Chatsworth Courthouse where Santa Clarita employment matters are typically heard, the local mediators who handle these cases, the wage-and-hour audits the DLSE runs against Santa Clarita Valley employers, and the negotiation patterns of HR teams at the dominant local employers. Knowing the venue and the opposing counsel is part of the work. If you are unsure whether what happened to you crosses the line, a brief, no-cost call usually answers the threshold question — see our writeup on do I need an employment lawyer for a longer framework.
We represent workers across the Santa Clarita Valley, not only inside the city limits. The employment issues shift by area, and so does the kind of evidence a case turns on.
Valencia. Corporate offices, the Town Center retail corridor, College of the Canyons, and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Salaried-exempt misclassification and pregnancy or disability accommodation disputes come up most often in the office population; wage, break, and harassment claims dominate on the retail and entertainment side.
Newhall. Downtown Newhall’s restaurant and small-business employers, plus healthcare roles. Smaller headcounts mean HR is often one person wearing three hats, which is exactly where complaints get mishandled and retaliation claims are born.
Saugus and Canyon Country. Mostly retail, service, education, and healthcare work. Off-the-clock time, missed meal and rest breaks, and final-paycheck violations under Labor Code §203 are the recurring pattern.
Stevenson Ranch and Castaic. Logistics, distribution, and manufacturing along the I-5 corridor. Overtime miscalculation, rounding practices, and safety-complaint retaliation are the claims we see most.
Agua Dulce and Val Verde. Smaller unincorporated communities where workers commute into the valley. Distance does not change your rights; California employment law follows the job, not the ZIP code.
FEHA’s five-employee threshold means most Santa Clarita Valley employers are covered, including small businesses that assume they are too small to be sued.
The case types below cover the bulk of what Santa Clarita employees come to us about. Each one has its own evidence pattern and its own damages model. The right cause of action is the one the facts will actually carry to trial.
Employment discrimination in a Santa Clarita workplace means an employer treated you worse than similarly-situated co-workers because of a protected characteristic — race, gender, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The conduct can be a single material event (a firing, a demotion, a denied promotion) or a pattern over time. California FEHA applies to employers with 5 or more employees — broader than federal Title VII, which requires 15.
Proving discrimination is usually circumstantial. There is rarely a smoking-gun email. Instead, the case is built on the timeline, comparator-employee records, the personnel file, and inconsistencies in the employer’s stated reasons. We walk through the standard framework in our guide on how to prove employment discrimination in California.
Sexual harassment in a Santa Clarita workplace can be quid pro quo (a supervisor conditioning a job benefit on a sexual demand) or hostile work environment (unwelcome conduct severe or pervasive enough to alter working conditions). California FEHA covers harassment by supervisors, co-workers, and even third parties such as customers, clients, or vendors. SB 331 (Silenced No More Act, 2022) voids NDA provisions that try to silence harassment claims, so a prior NDA does not necessarily bar your case.
The first steps are documenting incidents and identifying witnesses, then escalating through internal channels where appropriate, then preserving evidence before deleting it. Our writeup on how a lawyer helps victims of workplace sexual harassment covers the typical evidence and damages framework.
Free case review for Santa Clarita workers. Honest read on whether the claim has a real path to recovery — not a sales pitch.
Our work for a Santa Clarita employment client breaks into four phases. The phases overlap in practice, but they are useful as a map.
California Labor Code §510 requires time-and-a-half for non-exempt employees working more than 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and double time past 12 hours in a day. Common Santa Clarita employer violations include misclassifying employees as exempt, treating non-exempt workers as 1099 contractors, requiring off-the-clock work before or after a shift, and capping reported hours to avoid overtime. When an employer retaliates against a worker who raises an OT issue, both a wage-claim and a retaliation claim can be brought — see our writeup on how lawyers for overtime help employees fight for fair compensation.
Most plaintiff-side employment firms are built for volume — hundreds of open cases, rotating attorneys, intake forms that screen 90% of callers out. This is not that. Mercer Legal Group runs a smaller, senior-attention model for Santa Clarita employees. Here is what the process actually looks like.
Most Santa Clarita employment cases are taken on a contingency-fee basis: the firm only recovers if you recover. Typical California employment contingency fees range from one-third to 40% of the gross recovery, depending on the stage at which the case resolves. Out-of-pocket costs (filing fees, deposition costs, expert fees) are usually advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the recovery. Hourly billing is less common in plaintiff-side employment work but is used in some discrete matters such as severance review or non-compete enforcement defense. For a longer breakdown of cost structures and ranges, see our guide on how much does a discrimination lawyer cost in California.
Different employment claims have different proof standards, damages, and timelines. The table below is a high-level Santa Clarita reference — every case turns on its specific facts.
| Claim Type | Description | Potential Remedies | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discrimination | Adverse treatment based on a protected category (race, gender, age, disability, pregnancy, etc.) under FEHA §12940 | Back pay, front pay, emotional distress, attorney’s fees, punitive damages | 9–24 months |
| Harassment | Hostile work environment or quid pro quo harassment; sexual or based on protected category | Back pay, emotional distress, punitive damages; injunctive relief | 9–24 months |
| Retaliation | Adverse action for protected activity (Labor Code §1102.5, §98.6, FEHA §12940(h)) — see our writeup on the legal ramifications of EEOC retaliation claims | Back pay, front pay, $10,000 civil penalty per violation, attorney’s fees | 9–24 months |
| Wrongful Termination | Firing in violation of public policy (Tameny) or in breach of express/implied contract | Back pay, front pay, emotional distress, punitive damages (Civ Code §3294) | 12–30 months |
| FMLA / CFRA Violations | Denied leave, retaliation for taking leave, failure to reinstate | Back pay, front pay, reinstatement, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees | 9–18 months |
The bulk of California plaintiff-side employment work falls into discrimination (FEHA Gov Code §12940), workplace harassment including sexual harassment, retaliation and whistleblower claims (Labor Code §1102.5 and §98.6), wrongful termination (Tameny common-law and contract-based), wage and hour disputes (unpaid overtime, missed meal/rest breaks, misclassification), and FMLA/CFRA leave violations. We take all of these for Santa Clarita workers. The right cause of action is the one the facts will carry to trial — many cases plead two or three in the alternative.
Most California employment discrimination cases resolve in 9–24 months. The FEHA administrative exhaustion step (filing with the California Civil Rights Department, then obtaining a right-to-sue notice) typically takes 1–4 months. Pre-litigation settlement, when it works, can close a case in 3–6 months total. Cases that go through full discovery and mediation usually run 12–18 months. Cases tried to verdict run 18–36 months. The Los Angeles County Superior Court Chatsworth Courthouse, which hears Santa Clarita employment matters, tracks closer to the longer end of the range.
Yes, if the firing violated a fundamental California public policy (Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (1980) 27 Cal.3d 167) or breached an express or implied employment contract. Most Santa Clarita wrongful-termination cases are public-policy claims: you were fired for refusing to do something illegal, for reporting a legal violation, for asserting a Labor Code right, or based on a protected category under FEHA. California is an at-will employment state, but at-will termination does not authorize firing in violation of public policy. The first step is an honest read on whether the facts support a viable claim.
California FEHA (Gov Code §12940) covers workplace harassment based on a protected category — sex, race, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more. The harassment can be perpetrated by a supervisor, a co-worker, or a third party such as a customer. You have the right to report the harassment internally and externally, to be free from retaliation for reporting (Gov Code §12940(h)), and to recover damages if the harassment is severe or pervasive enough to alter your working conditions. SB 331 (Silenced No More Act) voids NDAs that try to silence harassment claims, so a prior NDA does not necessarily bar your case.
Most plaintiff-side California employment lawyers work on a contingency-fee basis — no fee unless we recover. Typical contingency rates range from one-third to 40% of the gross recovery depending on the stage at which the case resolves. Out-of-pocket costs (court filing fees, deposition costs, expert witness fees) are usually advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the recovery. Hourly billing is less common in plaintiff-side employment work but is used for discrete matters such as severance review or non-compete defense. Initial consultations are free. For a longer breakdown see our guide on how much does a discrimination lawyer cost in California.
Conduct has to be severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of your job, and it has to be tied to a protected characteristic. A single slur from a coworker usually is not enough on its own. A supervisor who makes sexual comments every shift for three months usually is. California FEHA (Gov Code §12940(j)) sets a lower bar than federal law after SB 1300, which rejected the “stray remarks” defense and confirmed that a single act can qualify if it is severe. What matters for your case is the record: dates, who said what, who saw it, and what HR did after you reported it.
No, and California defines retaliation broadly. Labor Code §1102.5 protects you when you report a suspected violation internally to a supervisor, not just when you go to a government agency. Labor Code §98.6 covers retaliation for asserting any wage or Labor Code right. Gov Code §12940(h) covers retaliation for opposing discrimination or harassment. Retaliation is not limited to firing. A schedule cut, a transfer to a worse shift, a sudden negative review after years of good ones, or being frozen out of assignments can all qualify. Timing matters: adverse action shortly after a complaint is one of the strongest circumstantial facts a retaliation case can have.
CFRA (Gov Code §12945.2) gives eligible California employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, and it applies to employers with 5 or more employees, far broader than federal FMLA, which requires 50. You qualify after 12 months of employment and 1,250 hours worked. Your employer has to return you to the same or a comparable position. The violations we see most often in Santa Clarita are denial of leave that should have been granted, discipline for absences that were protected leave, and failure to reinstate after leave ends.
Yes. California stacks three separate protections: Pregnancy Disability Leave (Gov Code §12945) gives up to four months of leave for pregnancy-related disability, CFRA adds bonding leave on top of that, and FEHA prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. PDL applies to employers with 5 or more employees. Common fact patterns include a demotion or a route to termination after announcing a pregnancy, denial of reasonable accommodation such as lifting limits or additional breaks, and a position that quietly disappears during leave.
Yes. FEHA covers a wider range of conditions than the federal ADA and requires employers with 5 or more employees to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process once they know an accommodation may be needed. Two claims usually run together: failure to accommodate, and failure to engage in the interactive process. The second stands on its own even if no accommodation was ultimately available. These cases turn on the paper trail, so keep every accommodation request you made in writing.
Call or send a note through the contact form. Two or three sentences on what happened and roughly when is enough to schedule the call.
Simon or a senior attorney works the facts on the call and gives a direct read: viable claim, weak claim, or no claim. No pitch. If the case has merit, the attorney lays out the likely framework — causes of action, evidence to preserve, and damages model.
If the case has merit, the firm tells you exactly what to preserve — email threads, text messages, performance reviews, pay records, witness contact info, the personnel file you have a statutory right to under Labor Code §1198.5 — and what NOT to send or post.
Once the record is built, the choice is yours: accept the best settlement the file will support, or push the case to trial. We share the analysis behind both paths and let you make the call.
Plenty of Santa Clarita Valley residents commute out of the valley to work, and plenty of the people working here live somewhere else. California employment law follows the job, not your home address, so the right page is usually the one for the city where you actually work.
North on the 14, into the Antelope Valley: Lancaster and Palmdale.
South through the pass into the San Fernando Valley: Burbank, Glendale, and Sherman Oaks.
West along the 101: Calabasas, Topanga, and Woodland Hills, where our office is.
If you are not sure which one applies, call. Where you file matters less than whether the claim holds up, and that is a five-minute conversation.
Free, confidential review. Every Santa Clarita intake lands on a senior attorney’s desk for an honest read on whether the claim has a real path. SE HABLA ESPAÑOL.
Legal Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page, contacting the firm, or sending information through the case-evaluation form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every employment case turns on its specific facts, and outcomes vary. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Mercer Legal Group is a California-licensed law firm; this site is not intended as solicitation in jurisdictions where the firm is not licensed. To discuss your specific situation, schedule a free confidential consultation.
