San Francisco Employment Law Attorneys

San Francisco has several local ordinances that exceed California law. The SF Minimum Wage Ordinance sets a higher local minimum wage. The Paid Sick Leave Ordinance gives up to 72 hours of paid sick leave for full-time workers at most employers, more than the state baseline under Labor Code § 246. The Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance lets employees request flexible or predictable working arrangements. The Fair Chance Ordinance restricts when employers can ask about or use criminal history. The Paid Parental Leave Ordinance can supplement California Paid Family Leave benefits up to full pay for bonding leave. The Lactation in the Workplace Ordinance requires lactation spaces and break time. These all stack on top of FEHA and Labor Code protections.

Business and Professions Code § 16600 voids most contracts that restrain anyone from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business. Effective January 1, 2024, § 16600.5 went further: it bars employers from attempting to enforce non-competes against California workers no matter where the contract was signed, makes such enforcement an act of unfair competition, and gives workers a private right of action with attorneys' fees. Many forfeiture-for-competition clauses, broad customer non-solicits, and post-employment restrictions on contacting coworkers are also unenforceable. Trade secret protection under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act still exists, but it is narrower and requires actual misappropriation rather than mere employment with a competitor.

Under Labor Code §§ 201 and 203, your final wages including all earned and vested wages must be paid immediately upon involuntary termination. If your employer willfully fails to pay, you can recover waiting time penalties of one day's wages for each day late, up to 30 days. Earned commissions and bonuses generally count as wages. Whether unvested RSUs or stock options are 'earned' depends on the plan terms, but vested equity often is. Severance agreements often include releases of FEHA, Labor Code, and federal claims. Under the federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, severance offered to employees 40+ as part of a group layoff must include specific disclosures and a 45-day review period plus 7-day revocation period.

If your employer has 5 or more employees, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), Gov Code § 12945.2, gives you up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave per year for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member (including parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and designated persons), or for bonding with a new child. Pregnancy Disability Leave under Gov Code § 12945 adds up to 4 months. California Paid Family Leave (administered through SDI) provides partial wage replacement. The SF Paid Parental Leave Ordinance can supplement that to full pay for bonding leave. SF Paid Sick Leave provides up to 72 hours per year for most workers. Federal FMLA applies to employers with 50+ employees.

Individual wage claims can be filed with the Labor Commissioner's office at 455 Golden Gate Ave, 10th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102, or online. Labor Code § 1194 lets you recover unpaid minimum wage, overtime, interest, and attorneys' fees. Labor Code § 226.7 covers meal and rest break premiums under §§ 510-512. PAGA claims under § 2698 et seq. must start with an LWDA notice describing the violations and the affected employees, after which the employee can file in court. PAGA penalties are generally $100 per pay period for the initial violation and $200 thereafter, with 65% going to the state and 35% to workers. Many SF cases pair an individual class action with a PAGA representative claim.

Yes. Labor Code § 1102.5 is one of the broadest whistleblower laws in the country. It protects employees who disclose information they reasonably believe shows a violation of any local, state, or federal statute, rule, or regulation, whether the disclosure is internal (to a supervisor or person with authority to investigate) or external (to a government agency). It also protects refusal to participate in unlawful activity. Plaintiffs do not have to prove the law was actually broken, only that they had a reasonable belief. § 1102.5 has a 3-year statute of limitations and allows recovery of lost wages, emotional distress damages, attorneys' fees, and a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation against the employer.

State-law claims under FEHA, the Labor Code, and common-law wrongful termination are typically filed in the San Francisco County Superior Court, 400 McAllister St. Federal claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FLSA, and the FMLA are filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California at the Phillip Burton Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Ave. Before filing in court on a FEHA claim, you generally need a right-to-sue notice from the CRD, which can be requested at the time of intake. Many SF cases include parallel EEOC and CRD filings under the agencies' work-sharing agreement so that both federal and state claims are preserved.

Under FEHA Gov Code § 12940(j), harassment based on a protected characteristic (sex, race, age 40+, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.) is unlawful when the conduct is severe enough or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment. California specifically rejects the older federal 'severe or pervasive' threshold in many cases: a single incident of harassing conduct can be enough if it unreasonably interferes with the employee's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Employers with 5+ employees must take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment under § 12940(k), and § 12964.5 bars employer-imposed NDAs covering harassment, retaliation, or discrimination claims.