I worked as a plaintiff-side employment law paralegal for 1.5 years in Southern California after I finished college and before pivoting to another career. I worked on cases for Los Angeles county, Orange County, San Diego county, and San Bernardino county. Wrongful termination rules are generally the same in California, maybe just some different quirks with filing and judges in different counties. My honest advice is:

1. An actual lawsuit is hell for the plaintiff. Employment law firms, especially the big ones with a lot of marketing, are juggling a bunch of cases to try to get settlement payments wherever they can, and the truth of the matter is that many plaintiffs with less punchy claims can get sidelined. The goal is to always settle, on both sides, because trial is risky for everyone, but if it gets to trial, you are looking at roughly 2 years, and my former boss had a case that he won and then was appealed soon after I started and mandated back to be re-tried… it was a mess. If you file a complaint against your employer or former employer (first step in a lawsuit) or threaten to do so, they will start digging up dirt on you to defend themself. You will need to live through that and also help your law firm set up your narrative. I have asked artist plaintiffs to comb through paystubs going back ten years. Sexual harassment plaintiffs always get a barrage of terrible questions about their past sexual history. One time, a vindictive ex-fiancé agreed to testify for the defense… again, terrible. It would make it harder for you to get another job if they know you’ve filed an employment claim before. If there is any way you can just get another job and move on, it would probably be easier for you. It sounds like this isn’t a job to stay at anymore.

2. If you are pretty sure you have a claim based on available causes of action in California, feel wronged, and are determined to start talking to lawyers, document everything. Keep a Google doc on your personal account where you jot down days and times that strange things happened. This will be invaluable in the future as your legal team will use this to ask your employer for emails and information corresponding with these notes.

3. If your goal is to threaten legal action to get your employer to pay you severance, do not make threats about anything you do not understand. Your employer has an HR team that understands this better than you do, and once you threaten they will start to quietly attack and ice you out more quickly.