Legal Question in Employment Law in California

In general, unless an employee is civil service, in a union, or has a written employment contract, they are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or fired any time for any reason, with or without �cause�, explanation or notice. They also have 'cause' in your case. You lose, so try to negotiate your return with an apology, or look for new work. You may be entitled to unemployment benefits unless they characterize this as misconduct, which they could probably validly do.