How long does someone have to file an employment discrimination claim in California?

What this assumes

• The claim is about an unlawful employment practice under Article 1 of the Fair Employment and Housing Act, which is the branch section 12960(e)(5) covers [1].

• You are asking about the deadline to start an administrative complaint or charge, not the separate period to bring a civil action after a right-to-sue notice.

• The employer is large enough to be covered by the law relied on, since federal coverage begins at 15 employees and age discrimination at 20 [4].

What changes the answer

• What is alleged. Article 1 practices carry three years under section 12960(e)(5); the listed Civil Code claims carry one year under section 12960(e)(1) [1].

• Whether the claim is brought federally or in California, since the federal charge deadline is 180 or 300 days [3].

• Whether a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same basis of discrimination, which is what extends the federal deadline to 300 days [3].

• Whether an extension under section 12960(e)(6) applies, such as late discovery, a corrected employer identity, or attainment of majority [1].

• Whether the employer is covered at all, which begins at 15 employees federally and at 20 for age discrimination [4].

Where it varies by state, form, carrier, or fact

• This record states the administrative filing period only. The separate period within which a civil action must be brought after a right-to-sue notice is a different question and is not answered here.

• The three-year period is the result of amendment, and filing periods have moved before. Confirm the current text before relying on a date [1].

• Deadlines of this kind are frequently disputed on when the practice occurred rather than on the length of the period, and that is a legal question about the facts.

Next actions

1. If you are an employee, note the date the practice occurred, because both clocks run from it rather than from when you decided to act [1][3].

2. If you are an employer, set record retention against the three-year window rather than against the one-year personnel record minimum, since the longer exposure outlives the shorter duty [1][5].

3. Once a charge is filed, stop routine deletion. All records relevant to the charge must be preserved until final disposition of the charge or any lawsuit based on it [5].

4. Take the specific dates to a lawyer rather than working from a general period, because when the practice occurred is usually the contested point.

Source ledger

5 sources. Every citation number above resolves to a record below. Nothing here sits behind an account.

1. [1]

   California Government Code section 12960 (time to file a verified complaint with the department)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))

   California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation; the filing period for Article 1 complaints was extended to three years by amendment, so confirm the current text before relying on it.ID ca-gov-code-12960

   What this source supports (4)

   • Section 12960(e)(5) provides that a complaint alleging a violation of Section 51.9 of the Civil Code, or any other violation of Article 1 commencing with Section 12940 of Chapter 6, shall not be filed after the expiration of three years from the date upon which the unlawful practice or refusal to cooperate occurred.
   • Section 12960(e)(1) provides that a complaint alleging a violation of Section 51, 51.5, 51.7, 54, 54.1, or 54.2 of the Civil Code shall not be filed pursuant to the article after the expiration of one year from the date that the alleged unlawful practice or refusal to cooperate occurred.
   • Section 12960(e)(3) provides that a complaint alleging a violation of Article 9.5 commencing with Section 11135 of Chapter 1 of Part 1 shall not be filed pursuant to the article after the expiration of three years from the date that the alleged unlawful practice occurred or refusal to cooperate occurred.
   • Section 12960(e)(6) provides for extensions of those periods in specified circumstances, including discovery of the facts within 90 days after the expiration of the period, correction of the identity of the employer, and attainment of the age of majority.

   This is the deadline that determines whether an employment claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act can be brought at all, and it is the counterpart to the federal charge-filing limits already recorded in this corpus. Three years is the period for an Article 1 complaint under subdivision (e)(5), which is the branch that covers section 12940 practices. Different Civil Code claims carry a one year period under subdivision (e)(1), so the deadline depends on what is alleged rather than on where the person worked. This record states the administrative filing period only; the separate period to bring a civil action after a right-to-sue notice is not addressed here.

   Active
2. [2]

   California Government Code section 12940 (unlawful employment practices under the Fair Employment and Housing Act)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))

   California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended frequently by the California Legislature; the list of protected characteristics in subdivision (a) has been extended repeatedly, so confirm the current text on leginfo before relying on it.ID ca-gov-code-12940

   What this source supports (5)

   • Section 12940(a) makes it an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, for an employer to refuse to hire or employ a person because of that person's race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decisionmaking, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status.
   • Section 12940(h) makes it an unlawful employment practice for any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under the part, or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under the part.
   • Section 12940(j)(1) provides that an employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, if the employer or its agents or supervisors knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
   • Section 12940(j)(1) provides that in reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employer's control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered.
   • Section 12940(k) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.

   Subdivision (j)(1) is the provision that makes third party employment practices exposure a real thing rather than a marketing category: an employer can be responsible for harassment of its employees by people it does not employ, including customers and contractors, where it knew or should have known and failed to act. Subdivision (k) is a separate unlawful practice in its own right, so a failure to take reasonable preventive steps is actionable independently of whether any underlying discrimination is proved. Read subdivision (a) as a list that grows: characteristics have been added by amendment many times and the record here is the list as read on the access date.

   Active
3. [3]

   Time Limits For Filing A Charge(opens the original record on U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Reviewed at least every 180 days.ID eeoc-time-limits-filing-charge

   What this source supports (4)

   • In general a charge must be filed within 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place.
   • The 180 calendar day filing deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis.
   • For age discrimination the extension to 300 days applies only where a state law prohibits age discrimination in employment and a state agency enforces it.
   • Holidays and weekends are included in the calculation, and a deadline falling on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day.

   Active
4. [4]

   Small Business Requirements(opens the original record on U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Reviewed at least every 180 days.ID eeoc-small-business-requirements

   What this source supports (5)

   • An employer with 15 to 19 employees is covered by the laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or transgender status), national origin, disability and genetic information.
   • An employer with 20 or more employees is additionally covered by the law that prohibits discrimination based on age (40 or older).
   • An employer must display a poster at the business that describes the federal employment discrimination laws.
   • An employer must retain employment records, such as applications, personnel, payroll and benefits records, as required by law.
   • State and/or local employment discrimination laws may also apply to a business.

   Active
5. [5]

   Recordkeeping Requirements(opens the original record on U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Reviewed at least every 180 days.ID eeoc-recordkeeping-requirements

   What this source supports (5)

   • Under Title VII and the ADA employers must keep all personnel or employment records for one year.
   • Where an employee is involuntarily terminated, the personnel records must be retained for one year from the date of termination.
   • Under the ADEA employers must keep all payroll records for three years.
   • Employee benefit plans and written seniority or merit systems must be kept for the full period the plan or system is in effect and for at least one year after termination.
   • Once a charge has been filed, the employer must preserve all records relevant to the charge until final disposition of the charge or any lawsuit based on the charge.

   Active

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