Executives face distinct legal issues when they are terminated. At The Armstrong Law Firm, we represent executives in San Francisco and throughout Northern California who believe they have been wrongfully terminated, protecting their rights in complex employment disputes.
Executive-level wrongful termination claims demand focused experience and a thorough understanding of contract law, statutory protections, and the higher stakes involved in severance, bonuses, equity, benefit continuation, and reputational harm. If you are an executive or senior leader facing termination under suspicious or unfair circumstances, you need a San Francisco wrongful termination attorney who will fight for your future.
Why Choose Us at The Armstrong Law Firm?
The Armstrong Law Firm is one of Northern California’s most established employee-only law firms, dedicated solely to protecting workers’ rights, not defending corporations. We focus on holding employers accountable and achieving justice for executives and professionals throughout the Bay Area and Silicon Valley.
- Experience in executive-level cases: We regularly represent high-earning professionals and C-suite executives in complex employment disputes involving contracts, bonuses, non-compete clauses, and equity compensation. We understand the nuances of executive agreements and know how to identify and prove wrongful conduct that others might overlook.
- Proven results and leadership: Led by founding attorney Kelly Armstrong, a long-recognized Northern California Super Lawyer and member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums, our firm has secured millions in revenue for our clients.
- Efficient intake process: We respect your time and urgency. Our streamlined intake process allows an initial phone consultation with an experienced paralegal, followed by an in-depth attorney review. We only accept cases we believe in, ensuring that each client receives our full attention and resources from start to finish.
- Local insight with statewide reach: With offices in San Francisco, Oakland, Sausalito, and San Jose, we combine thorough knowledge of local courts and employers with decades of employment law experience, giving executives a trusted advocate close to home.
We provide experienced advocacy that protects your career, restores your dignity, and helps you move forward confidently.
What Is Wrongful Termination for Executives?
In California, wrongful termination generally refers to a situation where an employer fires or removes an employee in violation of an employment contract, a specific statute, or public policy, notwithstanding the default at-will doctrine. For executives, wrongful termination often involves:
- Breach of express or implied contract: Many executives have written agreements, including employment contracts, offer letters, severance agreements, and bonus plans, that impose limits on termination, require cause, or provide certain triggers for payout. The firing can be wrongful when an employer violates those terms.
- Violation of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing: Even where a contract is silent about cause, courts recognize that employers must act in good faith, not deprive an executive of contract benefits via bad faith, arbitrary, or capricious behavior.
- Fraud in the inducement or misrepresentation: You may have a claim if the employer promised certain job security, equity vesting, or bonus conditions that lured you into accepting the executive position, then terminated you contrary to those representations.
- Retaliation, discrimination, or whistleblower dismissal: Executives are not exempt from protections under federal or state statutes. If your termination was tied to protected activity, discriminatory motive, or reporting illegal conduct, you may have a wrongful termination claim.
- Constructive termination: Sometimes, an employer may make conditions so intolerable that an executive feels forced to resign. Demotions, pay cuts, harassment, and unreasonable demands may trigger a constructive discharge claim.
Because executive dismissals often involve bonus, equity, stock, deferred compensation, benefit continuation, and noncompetition or confidentiality clauses, the stakes and complexity are much higher than in ordinary employee employment disputes.
What Are Your Rights Under Federal and California Law as an Executive?
Even at the executive level, you are not without protection under various federal and state laws. Understanding these rights is essential to asserting a valid claim.
Federal Protections
Federal protections include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act: This prohibits discrimination and termination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA): This protects employees aged 40 and over from age-based discharge.
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ADA Amendments Act: This prohibits firing or discrimination against individuals with disabilities or associated conditions, if reasonable accommodation is possible.
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Termination for taking or seeking to take qualifying leave could violate FMLA protections.
- Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, and whistleblower laws: You may have protections from retaliation or dismissal if you reported securities fraud, regulatory violations, or other corporate misconduct.
These federal protections create a strong foundation for executives who have been treated unlawfully and help them challenge discrimination, retaliation, or bad-faith termination.
California State Provisions
California’s state provisions include:
- California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): This prohibits age, race, gender, disability, national origin, and sexual orientation discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in employment.
- California Labor Code § 1102.5: This whistleblower law prohibits employer retaliation if you report or refuse to participate in your employer’s wrongdoing or violation of the law.
- California Family Rights Act (CFRA): At the state level, this provides similar protections to FMLA for particular family or medical leave rights.
- Public policy and tort exceptions: Under California common law, an employee cannot be terminated for reasons that violate fundamental public policy, such as refusal to commit an illegal act, enforcing safety laws, or reporting violations.
- Contractual protections and statutory bonus or commission claims: If California law governs your contract or bonus plan, you may recover breach, unpaid bonuses, commissions, or severance under state law standards.
Executives can often strengthen their position and increase leverage for a favorable outcome by asserting these statutory rights alongside contract and fiduciary duty claims.
What Are Some Common Grounds for a Wrongful Termination Claim in California?
Some of the most frequent grounds on which executive wrongful termination claims are based include:
- Discrimination or harassment based on age, gender, race, disability, or other protected status
- Retaliation or whistleblower firing
- Express or implied breach of contract
- Bad faith, malice, or abusive termination
- Constructive discharge, such as dramatic demotions, slashing resources, changing reporting lines, or altering compensation unreasonably
- Public policy violation
- Failure to pay bonus, equity, or deferred compensation
- Misrepresentation or fraudulent inducement
These grounds can overlap. In a viable executive-level case, our attorney will analyze the contract, communications, bonus plans, equity agreements, board minutes, emails, performance reviews, and other evidence to reconstruct the narrative and establish liability.
Call Our Experienced San Francisco Executive Level Wrongful Termination Lawyer Today
If you are an executive who has been terminated or you see an impending termination looming, contact The Armstrong Law Firm today. We will evaluate your rights, quantify your losses, investigate evidence, negotiate aggressively, and, if needed, litigate in court to recover the compensation you deserve.