Quick Answer
If you think a workplace decision was discriminatory or retaliatory, start by preserving facts before trying to label the case. Build a dated chronology, save records you lawfully possess, identify who made each decision, record witnesses, and keep copies of any complaint or accommodation request and the employer’s response.
California’s Civil Rights Department asks for specific facts, records, documents and witness information when evaluating an employment complaint. A clean evidence file does not prove discrimination by itself, but it makes it easier to test whether the timing, explanations, comparators and employment record support or weaken the claim.
Start With the Event, Not the Legal Label
For each event, record what happened, when and where it happened, who participated, who witnessed it, what was said or written, and what employment consequence followed. If you do not know why a decision was made, write ‘reason unknown’ rather than supplying a motive.
Then identify the protected characteristic or protected activity you think may be relevant. Under California FEHA, protected characteristics include categories such as race, national origin, disability, sex and pregnancy, religion, age 40 and over, sexual orientation and others. Retaliation involves a different question: whether an adverse action followed the exercise of a protected right.
Build One Chronology With Source References
Use one timeline. Suggested columns are date, event, people involved, witness, document or message, employment effect, and notes. Link each entry to the actual source file by a simple filename or folder reference.
A chronology is especially useful when the employer’s explanation changes over time. It also makes gaps visible. If you remember an event but cannot place the exact date, use an approximate range and mark it as approximate.
Preserve Communications in Their Original Context
Save emails, texts, chat messages, letters, calendar invitations, meeting notes, performance feedback, written warnings and HR communications that relate to the events. Preserve sender, recipient, date and surrounding conversation when possible. A cropped screenshot can lose the context that later matters.
Keep an untouched copy. If you highlight or annotate a document, work on a duplicate so the original remains available. Do not edit message text to make a cleaner exhibit.
Document the Employment Record Before and After the Event
Preserve job descriptions, offer letters, schedules, pay records, performance reviews, attendance records, commendations, coaching notes, disciplinary documents, promotion applications, transfer requests and termination or resignation records that you lawfully possess.
The point is comparison. If the employer says a decision was based on performance, attendance, restructuring or policy, the file should allow a reviewer to examine the record before the complaint or protected event and what changed afterward.
Record Comparators Carefully
A comparator is another employee whose treatment may provide context. Record the person’s role, supervisor, conduct or qualification that you believe is comparable, the different treatment, and the source of your knowledge. Do not state personnel facts you only heard as rumor as though they are established.
You may not have access to another employee’s personnel file, and you should not try to obtain it improperly. A lawyer or agency may have lawful discovery or investigative tools that an employee does not.
Preserve the Complaint and the Employer Response
If you reported discrimination, harassment, unequal treatment, wage problems, safety concerns, or another protected issue, keep the exact report. Note whether it was oral or written, to whom it was made, when it was made, and what response followed.
For an oral report, make a dated note of what you said and who was present. If appropriate, a neutral follow-up email confirming the issue discussed can create a clear record without exaggerating the conversation.
Create a Separate Retaliation Timeline
After a protected complaint or request, track changes in schedule, duties, supervision, pay, discipline, evaluations, access, promotion opportunities and termination decisions. The fact that something happened later does not automatically make it retaliation, but the sequence and stated reasons are often important evidence.
The correct forum depends on the right involved. FEHA discrimination, harassment and related retaliation are handled through CRD. The Labor Commissioner separately handles retaliation under many wage, safety and labor-right statutes. Those routes can have different deadlines.
Use Lawful Evidence-Preservation Methods
Preserve records you already receive or are authorized to access. Do not use another employee’s password, bypass access controls, forward broad confidential databases, or take trade-secret, customer or medical information unrelated to your own employment dispute.
Be cautious about recording conversations. California Penal Code section 632 generally prohibits intentionally recording a confidential communication without all parties’ consent. Whether a conversation is legally confidential can be fact-specific, so do not make covert recording part of an evidence plan without legal advice.
Prepare for CRD Intake Without Waiting for Every Document
CRD’s complaint process asks for the specific facts, copies of evidence, and witness names and contact information if known. CRD also recommends employment documents such as termination letters, written reprimands, memoranda, transfer notices, emails, texts, screenshots and grievances when relevant.
CRD currently states that an employment intake form generally must be submitted within three years of the last alleged harm. That rule does not make every employment claim a three-year claim. Other statutes, agencies and court causes of action can have different deadlines, so confirm the correct route promptly.
Bottom Line
The strongest documentation file is not the biggest one. It is the one that shows a reliable chronology, preserves original communications, identifies decision-makers and witnesses, separates facts from assumptions, and records what changed after a complaint or protected request. Preserve lawfully, keep originals intact, and check the right forum and deadline early.