In most cases, if you quit your job in California, it is considered a willful move on your part, and you have no grounds to claim you were wrongfully terminated. However, the American Bar Association notes there are some situations where you can quit your job and still have grounds for wrongful termination. The grounds for such a claim are fairly limited, though.
The main idea behind a wrongful termination situation where the employee quit and was not actually fired by the employer is something called constructive discharge. This concept came about due to employers trying to get employees to quit their jobs so they did not have to fire them and be held liable under various laws, such as the Civil Rights Act or the National Labor Relations Act.
For example, if your employer was discriminating against you by cutting your hours or treating you differently than other employees and you quit because the actions of your employer created a terrible work environment for you, then you may have grounds for wrongful termination. It could be held that you were essentially coerced into quitting your job.
It is important to note that your working conditions need to have deteriorated to the point you could no longer endure them to have a case of constructive discharge. Simply feeling your employer treated you unfairly is not enough to claim a wrongful termination case against an employer when you quit the job voluntarily. This information is only intended to educate and should not be interpreted as legal advice.