The Unique Employment Landscape for Education Workers in California

California’s education workforce is enormous. K-12 schools — public, charter, and private — employ hundreds of thousands of teachers, administrators, classified staff, and instructional aides across the state. The California State University system, the University of California, and California’s 116 community colleges employ tens of thousands more. And private colleges, universities, and trade schools add to that number significantly.

Education workers face employment law violations that look similar to those in other industries: discrimination in hiring and promotion, sexual harassment, retaliation for reporting misconduct, and wage and hour violations. But the procedural landscape in education is more complex. Public school teachers and administrators are often public employees, which means different rules apply — including government tort claim deadlines that can be significantly shorter than the standard FEHA three-year period. Charter school employees sometimes face hybrid situations. Private school employees may have additional protections under their employment contracts.

Christopher Ellison Law helps California education workers understand which set of rules applies to them — and then fights to enforce their rights under those rules.

What California Law Covers for Education Workers

Discrimination in Education Employment

FEHA’s discrimination protections apply to private educational employers in California with five or more employees. For public school and university employees, FEHA applies alongside government employment law. Common discrimination patterns in education employment:

• Race and national origin discrimination in hiring and promotion — California’s teaching workforce is more diverse than its administrative and leadership ranks, reflecting systemic patterns of discrimination in advancement
• Age discrimination — experienced teachers and professors being pushed out or denied tenure in favor of younger, lower-cost employees
• Gender discrimination — unequal pay between male and female educators performing substantially similar work, and differential treatment in tenure decisions
• Disability discrimination — teachers and classified staff with disabilities being denied reasonable accommodations or pushed out after a medical leave
• Pregnancy discrimination — adverse treatment of pregnant teachers or those requesting maternity leave
• LGBTQ+ discrimination — increasingly documented in both K-12 and higher education settings

Retaliation — Particularly Common in Education Settings

Education workers face retaliation in several specific patterns. Teachers who report unsafe school conditions, students being mistreated, or administrative misconduct sometimes find themselves on the receiving end of negative evaluations, reassignments, or non-renewal of contracts. University faculty who raise concerns about research misconduct or academic integrity sometimes experience professional marginalization. Classified staff who file wage complaints or report discrimination are sometimes targeted for discipline.

California Labor Code Section 1102.5 protects all of these workers. A retaliation claim requires showing that you engaged in protected activity, that your employer knew about it, and that adverse action followed. The timing between the protected activity and the adverse action is often the most powerful evidence in these cases.

Sexual Harassment in Educational Workplaces

Sexual harassment in educational settings — between administrators and teachers, between professors and instructors, and between supervisors and classified staff — is an underreported problem in California’s education system. The power dynamics in academic environments, where tenure and employment decisions are made by small committees and senior faculty, create conditions where victims often feel they have no safe outlet for reporting.

California law holds educational institutions responsible for harassment that occurs in their workplaces. The employer’s failure to prevent or address harassment creates liability at the institutional level — not just against the individual harasser. And under the federal EFAA, educational employers cannot force sexual harassment claims into arbitration even when employment contracts contain arbitration clauses.

Wrongful Termination and Non-Renewal of Contracts

For K-12 public school teachers, state Education Code provides specific procedural protections — including hearing rights before termination. But Education Code procedures don’t provide immunity from FEHA discrimination or retaliation claims. A teacher who is fired or not re-employed after engaging in protected activity, or whose termination is connected to a protected characteristic, has rights under FEHA that exist independently of the Education Code process.

For charter school employees, private school teachers, university instructors, and classified staff, the analysis is more straightforward: if the termination was discriminatory or retaliatory, it’s actionable under FEHA regardless of the employer’s characterization of the decision.

Wage and Hour Issues in Education

Education workers — particularly classified staff, instructional aides, and part-time or adjunct instructors — face wage and hour violations that are distinct from other sectors:

• Adjunct faculty at community colleges and universities are sometimes required to perform student contact, grading, and preparation hours that exceed their paid hours — this is compensable time under California law
• Classified staff who perform work outside their regular hours, during non-paid supervision time, or during what’s supposed to be a preparation period without compensation may have wage claims
• Education workers who are misclassified as independent contractors — including some substitute teachers and some tutoring and support service providers — may have overtime and wage claims under AB5

Government Employee Considerations — Critical Deadlines

If you work for a public school district, a California State University campus, a community college district, or any other government employer, the procedural requirements are different from private sector employment — and the deadlines are often much shorter.

For claims against public employers, a government tort claim may need to be filed with the relevant government entity within six months of the violation. This deadline is strictly enforced. Missing it can permanently bar your claim, no matter how strong the underlying case. If you’re a public school or university employee who believes your rights have been violated, contact us immediately — before you do anything else.

FEHA claims against public employers still require a complaint with the CRD within three years. But the government tort claim process runs parallel to and sometimes intersects with the FEHA process in ways that require careful navigation.

Filing Deadlines for Education Workers

Don’t wait. Your time is limited.

• FEHA (discrimination, harassment, retaliation): 3 years to file with the CRD
• Wrongful termination (public policy): 2 years from termination
• Wage and hour violations: 3 years (4 years under the UCL)
• Government tort claims against public school districts or government university employers: often as short as 6 months — contact us immediately
• PAGA claims: 1 year from the last violation you personally experienced

Questions Education Workers Ask Us

I’m a public school teacher and I believe I was not rehired because of my race. What do I do?

File quickly — deadlines for public employees can be significantly shorter than for private sector workers. Under FEHA, you have three years to file with the CRD. But if your claim also involves a tort theory, the government tort claim deadline may be as short as six months. Document everything about the decision-making process — who made the recommendation, what criteria were used, and how teachers of different races were treated. Then call us right away at (310) 882-6239.

I’m an adjunct professor who teaches 15 hours of student contact per week but grades and prepares for many more hours. Am I being paid for all my time?

This is a common issue in California’s community college and university systems. California’s wage and hour laws require payment for all hours worked. If you’re performing significant compensable work — grading, class preparation, student communications — beyond your paid contract hours, and you’re not being compensated for that time, you may have a wage claim. This is worth a conversation. Contact us at (310) 882-6239.

I was a teacher who reported a student abuse situation to the district and then got a negative evaluation. Is that retaliation?

Potentially, yes. Mandatory reporters who make reports of child abuse to the appropriate authorities are protected from retaliation under both California’s Whistleblower Protection Act and Labor Code Section 1102.5. If your employer took adverse action against you after you made a legally required report, that’s a potential retaliation claim. Document the timeline — the report date, who you reported to, and exactly when the negative evaluation appeared — and call us.

I work for a charter school in California. Am I covered by FEHA?

Yes. Charter schools in California are private employers for FEHA purposes (unless they have been established as public charter schools, which some have). FEHA’s discrimination, harassment, and retaliation protections apply. The government tort claim requirements do not apply to most charter schools. Your situation will depend on the specific structure of your charter school — call us to discuss.

Free Consultation for California Education Workers

Christopher Ellison Law offers free, confidential consultations for California teachers, professors, classified staff, and education administrators. We understand the procedural complexity of education employment and we fight for our clients within it.

What you get with Christopher Ellison Law:

• Understanding of government employee claim deadlines and Education Code
• Experience with public employee retaliation and FEHA claims
• Trial preparation from day one
• No fees unless we win
• Free, confidential consultation

Christopher Ellison Law | Education Workers Employment Attorney | (310) 882-6239

You dedicated your career to others. You deserve to have your rights protected too.