90 day probationary period in California

While all employees both probationary and otherwise are protected from unlawful actions by their employer such as unlawful discriminatory treatment and other unlawful acts in general, all employees in California are considered to be at will and can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all. This would be particularly the case with respect to a probationary employee. Should you terminate a non performing employee, be sure that all instances of non performance are well documented and during termination I would advise not to be too specific as to the reason. If terminating while on probation I would merely state that she is being separated because of not being a good fit or that it's just not working out. These reasons would not preclude you from substantiating those reasons with evidence of her non performance should the issue arise in the future.  Bear in mind all we can do is advise you as to whether we believe she would have an actionable claim should you terminate, and under the circumstances you describe I think not. However, anyone can bring a lawsuit and should that occur just be sure you have ample documentation to support your decision................Stephan Math Esq, smesq1@aol.com