The deadline to file a discrimination claim in California is three years from the last discriminatory act. Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), you must first file an administrative complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) within that three-year window (Gov. Code § 12960). Once the CRD issues a right-to-sue notice, you generally have one year from the date of that notice to file a lawsuit in court (Gov. Code § 12965).
That is the headline answer, but it is not the whole answer. Federal charges with the EEOC have a shorter 300-day clock, claims against government employers can carry six-month notice requirements, and related claims like retaliation complaints to the Labor Commissioner or wrongful termination in violation of public policy run on their own timelines. In my practice, the cases I worry about most are not the weak ones. They are the strong ones where the employee waited too long on the one deadline nobody told them about.
The FEHA deadline: three years to file with the CRD
FEHA is California's main anti-discrimination law. It covers discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, sex, gender, pregnancy, disability, age (40 and over), religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and other protected categories. Before you can sue under FEHA, you must "exhaust" your administrative remedies by filing a complaint with the CRD.
Until 2020, employees had only one year to do that. Assembly Bill 9, effective January 1, 2020, extended the filing deadline to three years from the date of the unlawful practice. The new deadline did not revive claims that had already expired under the old one-year rule, but for anything that happened in the last three years, the three-year rule applies.
A few practical points:
- The clock usually starts on the date of the act — the termination, the demotion, the denied promotion — not the date you realized it was illegal.
- Each act can have its own deadline. If you were passed over for a promotion four years ago and fired last month, the termination is timely; the old promotion decision may not be, unless an exception applies.
- Filing is free. You can file with the CRD online through the California Civil Rights Department.
Immediate right-to-sue: the fast track to court
You do not have to wait for the CRD to investigate. If you intend to go to court, you can request an immediate right-to-sue notice. The CRD closes its file and issues the notice right away. Most employees who hire a lawyer take this route, because a lawsuit gives you subpoenas, depositions, and a jury — tools the agency investigation does not.
If you take the immediate right-to-sue route, two follow-up deadlines matter: the CRD complaint must be served on the employer, and the lawsuit itself must be filed within one year of the notice. Calendar both the day you receive the notice.
One year to sue after the right-to-sue notice
Under Gov. Code § 12965, a FEHA lawsuit must be filed within one year from the date of the right-to-sue notice. If you let the CRD investigate instead, the agency must issue the notice when its investigation is complete, and you then have one year from that date.
The statute also contains tolling rules — situations that pause or extend the one-year clock:
- Dual filing with the EEOC. When a charge is filed with both the CRD and the EEOC and one agency defers to the other, the one-year period is tolled, and it expires on the later of the federal right-to-sue deadline or one year from the CRD notice.
- Dispute resolution. Time spent in a CRD mandatory or voluntary dispute resolution proceeding is tolled.
- Written tolling agreements between the CRD and the employer, and certain appeals within the CRD, also pause the clock.
Tolling rules are technical, and courts apply them strictly. Do not assume you qualify — have a lawyer confirm the actual date.
The federal EEOC deadline: 300 days in California
Federal laws like Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act require a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The general federal deadline is 180 days, but it extends to 300 days in states like California that have their own fair employment agency.
California's CRD and the EEOC have a work-sharing agreement, so a complaint filed with one agency is generally cross-filed with the other. That is convenient, but it does not change the math: 300 days is far shorter than three years. If you want to preserve federal claims, the federal clock is the one to watch. After the EEOC issues its own right-to-sue notice, a federal lawsuit generally must be filed within 90 days.
For most California employees, FEHA is the stronger law anyway. It covers employers with five or more employees (Title VII requires 15), and it does not cap compensatory and punitive damages the way federal law does.
The continuing-violation doctrine in plain terms
Discrimination and harassment are often not one event but a pattern. California recognizes this through the continuing-violation doctrine, set out by the California Supreme Court in Richards v. CH2M Hill (2001). In plain terms, older conduct can still be part of a timely claim if:
- the earlier acts are similar in kind to the acts inside the filing window,
- they happened with reasonable frequency, and
- they had not yet become "permanent" — meaning a reasonable employee would not yet have understood that further efforts to fix the situation were futile.
This doctrine matters most in harassment and failure-to-accommodate cases, where an employee keeps asking for the problem to be fixed and the employer keeps promising, delaying, or ignoring. It is a lifeline, not a strategy. The safest approach is always to file within three years of the earliest act you want to recover for.
Other deadlines that can be much shorter
Discrimination cases rarely involve only FEHA. Firings and pay disputes usually bring related claims, and some of those deadlines are shorter than the CRD deadline.
Government employers
If you work for a city, county, school district, or state agency, FEHA claims are not subject to the Government Claims Act, but many other claims are. For non-FEHA claims for money damages against a public entity, you generally must present a written government claim first — within six months for many claims (Gov. Code § 911.2). Missing that step can bar the claim entirely.
Labor Commissioner retaliation complaints
Retaliation for complaining about wages, safety, or other Labor Code violations can be reported to the Labor Commissioner. Under Labor Code § 98.7, as amended effective 2023, you have one year from the retaliation to file that complaint with the Labor Commissioner's Office. Before 2023 the deadline was only six months, so older guidance you find online may be out of date.
Wage claims
Unpaid wages and overtime claims generally carry a three-year statute of limitations (Code Civ. Proc. § 338), which can extend to four years when pursued as restitution under the Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17208). Some penalty claims are shorter.
Wrongful termination in violation of public policy
A common-law claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy must be filed within two years of the firing (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). Note that this is a lawsuit deadline, not an agency deadline — there is no administrative step to buy you extra time. For more on how these claims fit together, see my guide on wrongful termination in California.
Deadline to file a discrimination claim in California: at a glance
- FEHA complaint with the CRD: 3 years from the unlawful act.
- FEHA lawsuit after right-to-sue: 1 year from the notice (subject to tolling).
- EEOC charge (federal claims): 300 days from the act.
- Federal lawsuit after EEOC notice: 90 days.
- Government claim (non-FEHA claims against public employers): often 6 months.
- Labor Commissioner retaliation complaint (§ 98.7): 1 year.
- Wage and overtime claims: 3 years, up to 4 under the UCL.
- Wrongful termination in violation of public policy: 2 years.
The shortest deadline that applies to your situation is the one that controls your timeline. When I evaluate a new matter, I build the calendar around the earliest date, not the latest.
What to do this week
If you believe you were discriminated against, the deadline to file a discrimination claim in California is the first thing to pin down. Here is what I recommend doing now:
- Write a timeline. List every key date: hiring, complaints you made, comments, write-ups, schedule changes, demotion, termination.
- Save evidence you are entitled to keep. Your own pay stubs, offer letter, performance reviews, texts and emails sent to you, and notes. Do not take confidential company data.
- Identify your employer type. Public employers trigger shorter claim-presentation deadlines.
- Do not sign anything — a severance agreement or release — before someone reviews it.
- Talk to an employment lawyer. Choosing the right lawyer matters; my guide on how to choose an employment lawyer in California walks through what to ask.
Pregnancy-related claims have their own leave rules layered on top of these deadlines. If that is your situation, read my article on pregnancy discrimination in California, PDL, and CFRA.
Protect your claim before time runs
Three years sounds like plenty of time to file a discrimination claim. It is not, once you account for the 300-day EEOC window, six-month government claim rules, and two-year wrongful termination deadline. Evidence also fades: witnesses leave, messages get deleted, and memories blur. These rules have exceptions, so treat this guide as a starting point rather than advice on your specific dates.
I founded Employees First Labor Law to make sure California workers get heard before the clock runs out. If you want Jonathan LaCour and our team to review your timeline, reach out for a free consultation — employment cases are handled on contingency, so nothing is owed up front.
Frequently asked questions.
How long do I have to file a discrimination claim in California?
Under FEHA, you must file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department within three years of the last discriminatory act. After the CRD issues a right-to-sue notice, you generally have one year to file a lawsuit. Related claims, such as federal EEOC charges or claims against public employers, can have much shorter deadlines, so confirm your dates early.
Can I sue my employer without going through the CRD?
Not for FEHA claims. You must first file a CRD complaint and obtain a right-to-sue notice. You can request an immediate right-to-sue notice, which lets you skip the agency investigation and go directly to court. Some related claims, like wrongful termination in violation of public policy, do not require an agency filing at all.
What is the EEOC deadline in California?
Federal discrimination charges must be filed with the EEOC within 300 days of the discriminatory act in California, because the state has its own fair employment agency. The CRD and EEOC share complaints through a work-sharing agreement, but the 300-day federal deadline is much shorter than California's three-year FEHA deadline.
What if the discrimination happened more than three years ago?
Acts older than three years are usually time-barred, but California's continuing-violation doctrine can sometimes allow older conduct to be included if it is similar to timely acts, happened with reasonable frequency, and had not become permanent. This exception is fact-specific, so speak with an employment lawyer before assuming a claim is lost or still alive.
Does filing an internal HR complaint stop the deadline?
No. Complaining to human resources or using an internal grievance process generally does not pause the FEHA deadline. Only specific events listed in the statute, such as certain CRD dispute resolution proceedings or dual filing with the EEOC, toll the clock. Keep tracking your CRD and court deadlines while any internal process plays out.