A former employee can file a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit in any of several California counties, and the choice usually holds. The Fair Employment and Housing Act has its own venue rule, broader than the general one, and it governs the whole case when FEHA claims are joined with other claims. An employer sued in the wrong county can ask to move the case, but the motion has to be filed with, or before, the company’s first response to the complaint.
Where can an employee file a FEHA lawsuit?
In any of three kinds of counties, with a fallback. Government Code section 12965(c)(3) says an action “may be brought in any county in the state in which the unlawful practice is alleged to have been committed, in the county in which the records relevant to the practice are maintained and administered, or in the county in which the aggrieved person would have worked or would have had access to the public accommodation but for the alleged unlawful practice.”
The fallback is narrower. The same paragraph adds that “if the defendant is not found within any of these counties, an action may be brought within the county of the defendant’s residence or principal office.”
The records clause matters for multi-site employers. A company that keeps its HR files and payroll records at headquarters may find that the headquarters county is a proper venue even for an employee who worked across the state.
Does the FEHA rule apply to the non-FEHA claims too?
Yes. Most employment complaints pair FEHA claims with wrongful termination in violation of public policy, Labor Code claims, or emotional distress claims. The California Supreme Court addressed that mix in Brown v. Superior Court (1984) 37 Cal.3d 477: “This court therefore holds that the special provisions of the FEHA venue statute control in cases involving FEHA claims joined with non-FEHA claims arising from the same facts.”
The court explained that the Legislature “clearly intended the FEHA venue provisions to apply not only to FEHA actions, but also to related claims pled under alternative theories but based on the same set of facts.” So an employer can’t usually split a complaint and move the non-FEHA claims to the county where the company is based.
When can an employer move the case?
When the county isn’t a proper one, and only if the employer acts early. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 396b(a), a case filed in the wrong court “may, notwithstanding, be tried in the court where commenced, unless the defendant, at the time he or she answers, demurs, or moves to strike,” or within the time to respond, files a motion to transfer. If the motion is timely and the county is wrong, the statute says the court “shall” order the transfer.
An employer that answers first and moves later has generally lost the wrong-county argument. Calendar the venue question with the answer deadline the day the summons arrives.
Can a case filed in a proper county still be moved?
Sometimes, on different grounds. Code of Civil Procedure section 397 lets the court change the place of trial “When there is reason to believe that an impartial trial cannot be had therein,” or “When the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted by the change.” A convenience motion is discretionary, and judges are slow to second-guess a plaintiff’s choice of a proper county. It’s also usually heard only after an answer is on file, as section 396b(d) contemplates.
| Ground for moving the case | Statute | Timing | How the court decides |
|---|---|---|---|
| County is not a proper FEHA venue | CCP § 396b(a); Gov. Code § 12965(c)(3) | With or before the first response | Must transfer if the county is wrong |
| Convenience of witnesses and ends of justice | CCP § 397(c) | Generally after the answer | Discretionary, with a heavy showing |
| An impartial trial can’t be had | CCP § 397(b) | When the facts arise | Discretionary, rarely granted |
Is there a cost to a weak venue motion?
There can be. Section 396b(b) lets the court award “reasonable expenses and attorney’s fees incurred in making or resisting the motion,” and it considers “whether an offer to stipulate to change of venue was reasonably made and rejected” and whether the motion “was made in good faith.” The statute makes those fees the attorney’s personal liability, not the party’s. That cuts both ways: a well-founded motion, preceded by a written request to stipulate, can shift fees to the employee’s lawyer.
Venue is also separate from the forum question. If the employee signed an enforceable arbitration agreement, a motion to compel may matter more than the county, as the firm’s post on motions to compel arbitration explains. A case with diverse parties may also be removable to federal court, which has its own deadlines.
What should an employer do when it’s sued in an unexpected county?
The venue decision has to be made in the first 30 days, alongside everything else.
- Put the employee’s personnel file, payroll records, and the decision-makers’ emails and texts under a litigation hold, and note where each set of records is kept.
- Calendar the response deadline, check for an arbitration agreement and EPLI notice requirements, and decide on venue before any answer or demurrer is filed.
- Identify where the employee worked, where each decision was made, and where the decision-makers and key witnesses live.
- Pull the documents showing where HR records are “maintained and administered,” since that clause can make a county proper.
- Talk to a lawyer about sending a written request to stipulate to transfer before filing the motion, and about whether removal or arbitration changes the plan.
The first decisions in a new case are covered on the firm’s page about the employment defense practice.
Venue questions employers ask
Can an employment agreement choose the county for a lawsuit?
Usually not. Venue within California is set by statute, and courts have been reluctant to let a contract pick one county over another. A clause choosing a different state raises separate issues, and Labor Code section 925 limits out-of-state forum and choice-of-law clauses for employees who primarily live and work in California. The safer assumption is that the FEHA venue statute controls where a California employee can sue.
What if the company has no office in the county where it was sued?
That alone doesn’t make the county improper. Section 12965(c)(3) looks at where the alleged unlawful practice happened, where the relevant records are kept, and where the employee would have worked. A remote employee who worked from home in one county may argue that county is where the practice was “committed.” The employer’s office locations matter only under the fallback clause.
Does a transfer delay the case?
Usually by a few months. The case is sent to the new court, which sets its own schedule. That delay isn’t a reason to move a case by itself, but it isn’t a reason to skip a strong motion either. The bigger question is whether the new county’s jury pool, the witnesses’ travel, and the court’s trial calendar make a real difference.
If your company was sued in a county that doesn’t fit the facts
If your company has been served with an employment lawsuit filed far from where the employee worked or where the decisions were made, the transfer motion has to be ready by the first response deadline. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents employers defending employment lawsuits and claims through its business litigation practice, including claims involving FEHA discrimination and retaliation. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The statutes are Government Code section 12965 and Code of Civil Procedure sections 396b and 397. The joined-claims rule is from Brown v. Superior Court (1984) 37 Cal.3d 477.
This post is general information about California and federal employment law as of November 7, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Employment statutes, regulations, and court decisions change often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.