Generally, employees in California are protected from discrimination and retaliation when submitting to a drug addiction rehabilitation program. In cases, where employees are fired for drug use, the timing of termination is of critical importance to making a claim. The reason for this is that it's not illegal to terminate an employee for drug use. It's only illegal to terminate a worker for enrolling in a rehab program. It should be easy to see how in these types of cases the employer will try to put their spin on the case - that the termination has nothing to do with entering a rehab program and it's only due to the mere use of drugs. The follow video provides a very useful tip about what an employee who is about to enter a rehab program can do to enhance a potential wrongful termination claim, if and when his employer decides to fire him: