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Can I fire employees for reasons other than poor performance in California? What are the requirements?

Yes, you can fire employees for reasons other than poor performance in California. However, if you are planning a mass layoff, relocation, or termination at a covered establishment, you must provide written notice to the affected employees, the Employment Development Department, the local workforce investment board, and the chief elected official of each city and county government within which the termination, relocation, or mass layoff occurs at least 60 days before the order takes effect [1.3][1.6].

A covered establishment is defined as any industrial or commercial facility or part thereof that employs, or has employed within the preceding 12 months, 75 or more persons [1.6].

An employer is defined as any person who directly or indirectly owns and operates a covered establishment [1.6].

An employer is not required to provide notice if a mass layoff, relocation, or termination is necessitated by a physical calamity or act of war [1.3].

If an employer fails to give notice as required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1401, the employer is subject to a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each day of the employer’s violation. However, the employer is not subject to a civil penalty under this section if the employer pays to all applicable employees the amounts for which the employer is liable under Section 1402 within three weeks from the date the employer orders the mass layoff, relocation, or termination [1.2].

An employer who fails to give notice as required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1401 before ordering a mass layoff, relocation, or termination is liable to each employee entitled to notice who lost his or her employment for back pay at the average regular rate of compensation received by the employee during the last three years of his or her employment, or the employee’s final rate of compensation, whichever is higher. The employer is also liable for the value of the cost of any benefits to which the employee would have been entitled had his or her employment not been lost, including the cost of any medical expenses incurred by the employee that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan. Liability under this section is calculated for the period of the employer’s violation, up to a maximum of 60 days, or one-half the number of days that the employee was employed by the employer, whichever period is smaller. The amount of an employer’s liability under subdivision (a) is reduced by any wages, except vacation moneys accrued prior to the period of the employer’s violation, paid by the employer to the employee during the period of the employer’s violation, any voluntary and unconditional payments made by the employer to the employee that were not required to satisfy any legal obligation, and any payments by the employer to a third party or trustee, such as premiums for health benefits or payments to a defined contribution pension plan, on behalf of and attributable to the employee for the period of the violation [1.4].

In summary, an employer may fire employees for reasons other than poor performance in California, but if a mass layoff, relocation, or termination is planned, the employer must provide written notice to the affected employees and government entities as outlined in the Cal/WARN Act [1.3][1.6]. Failure to provide notice may result in civil penalties or liability for back pay and benefits for affected employees [1.2][1.4].

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

California