Pursuant to California law, there are generally four distinct types of whistleblower retaliation claims: (1) Whistleblower Retaliation (Labor Code 1102.5); (2) FEHA, CFRA, FMLA Retaliation; (3) Wage Complaint Retaliation (Labor code 98.6); and (4) Health and Safety Complaint Retaliation (Labor Code 6310).
What is Whistleblower Retaliation?
It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee who reports, or refuses to participate in, conduct that the employee reasonably believes is unlawful. Protected disclosures, commonly referred to as “protected complaints,” include complaints to supervisors, legal authorities, or anyone with the authority to investigate such a protected complaint. Protected disclosures often look like complaints of suspected legal violations, such as, unsafe working conditions, false advertising, health and safety/OSHA violations, etc.
What is FEHA, CFRA, FMLA Retaliation?
It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee for exercising their rights under the CFRA or FMLA by requesting or taking leave. Retaliation can look like termination, suspension, demotion, decrease in pay, unfavorable transfer, etc. (See “CFRA and FMLA Rights” )
What is Wage Complaint Retaliation?
It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee for exercising their rights or complaining about violations of the Labor Code. Such protected disclosures generally include complaints about failure to pay overtime wages, requirements to work off the clock, requirement to skip or work through rest or meal breaks, receiving late payment of wages, etc.
What is Health and Safety Complaint Retaliation?
It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee for raising workplace health and safety concerns. The complaint by the employee must be made with a “good faith” belief that that there is or was a workplace health or safety concern; this means that the complaint could be protected under the law even if there was no actual health or safety concern. In order for the complaint to be protected under the law, it must have been made to the employer, its representative, or a governmental agency with health and safety responsibilities (such as OSHA). This law also protects employees whom employers believe intend to, but have not yet, made such complaints.
Legal Liability
If your employer has retaliated against you after you have exercised your legal rights or made a protected complaint, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages, lost career opportunities, emotional distress, and punitive damages if your employer acted with malice, oppression or fraud. Your rights are still protected, and you may still be entitled to damages, even if your employer alleges that you were terminated for performance issues or selected in a layoff or reduction in force.
The content on this website is not legal advice, does not establish an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee any particular outcome.
