California Whistleblower Protections

“State employees” or applicants.  Employee is defined as: “(a) “Employee” means an individual appointed by the Governor, or employed or holding office in a state agency as defined by Section 11000, including, for purposes of Sections 8547.3 to8547.7, inclusive, an employee of the California State University, or an individual appointed by the Legislature to a state board or commission and who is not a Member or employee of the Legislature. In addition, “employee” means a person employed by the Supreme Court, a court of appeal, a superior court, or the Administrative Office of the Courts for the purposes ofSections 8547.3 to 8547.7, inclusive, and Section 8547.13, except for those provisions ofSection 8547.4 concerning notice of adverse action and the State Personnel Board. “Employee” includes a former employee who met the criteria of this subdivision during his or her employment.”

Also covers University of California employees.  See § 8547.10.

For employees of the state courts see § 8547.13.

“report waste, fraud, abuse of authority, violation of law, or threat to public health without fear of retribution.”  § 8547.1.

(a) A state employee or applicant for state employment who files a written complaint with his or her supervisor, manager, or the appointing power alleging actual or attempted acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar improper acts prohibited by Section 8547.3, may also file a copy of the written complaint with the State Personnel Board, together with a sworn statement that the contents of the written complaint are true, or are believed by the affiant to be true, under penalty of perjury. The complaint filed with the board, shall be filed within 12 months of the most recent act of reprisal complained about.  § 8547.8.

“(b) Any person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar acts against a state employee or applicant for state employment for having made a protected disclosure, is subject to a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed one year. Pursuant to Section 19683, any state civil service employee who intentionally engages in that conduct shall be disciplined by adverse action as provided by Section 19572.

(c) In addition to all other penalties provided by law, any person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar acts against a state employee or applicant for state employment for having made a protected disclosure shall be liable in an action for damages brought against him or her by the injured party. Punitive damages may be awarded by the court where the acts of the offending party are proven to be malicious. Where liability has been established, the injured party shall also be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees as provided by law. However, any action for damages shall not be available to the injured party unless the injured party has first filed a complaint with the State Personnel Board pursuant to subdivision (a), and the board has issued, or failed to issue, findings pursuant toSection 19683.”  § 8547.8

“ employee or applicant for employment who files a complaint pursuant to Section 53297”

(e) “Employee” means any person employed by a local agency.

Filing a complaint disclosing: “the written provision of evidence regarding gross mismanagement or a significant waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.”

(a) Any officer, manager, or supervisor who violates Section 53298 with malicious intent is punishable by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and imprisonment in the county jail for up to a period of one year. In addition, any local agency officer, manager, or supervisor who maliciously engages in conduct prohibited by Section 53298 shall be disciplined as provided by local personnel rules and regulations.

(b) In addition to all other penalties provided by law, any local officer, manager, or supervisor who has been found by a court to have violated the provisions of Section 53298 with malicious intent shall be individually liable for damages in an action brought against him or her by the injured employee. Punitive damages may be awarded by the court where the offending party has acted with malice. Where liability has been established, the injured employee shall also be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees as provided by law. In no way, shall the provisions of this article establish any liability for punitive damages or any new cause of action against the local public entity other than liabilities contained in existing law.

“State employees and other persons”

(b) “Employee” means any individual appointed by the Governor or employed or holding office in a state agency, as defined by Section 11000, including the California State University and the University of California, or any public entity as defined by Section 7260, or any agency of local government, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 8 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

(d) “Person” means any individual, corporation, trust, association, any state or local government, or any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing..

Disclosing “improper governmental activities.” “(c) “Improper governmental activity” means any activity by a governmental agency or by an employee that is undertaken in the performance of the employee’s official duties, whether or not that action is within the scope of his or her employment, and that (1) is in violation of any state or federal law or regulation, including, but not limited to, corruption, malfeasance, bribery, theft of government property, fraudulent claims, fraud, coercion, conversion, malicious prosecution, misuse of government property, or willful omission to perform duty, or (2) is economically wasteful, or involves gross misconduct, incompetency, or inefficiency.”

(a) An employee may not directly or indirectly use or attempt to use the official authority or influence of the employee for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, coercing, commanding, or attempting to intimidate, threaten, coerce, or command any person for the purpose of interfering with the right of that person to disclose to a legislative committee improper governmental activities.

“(b) Any employee who violates subdivision (a) may be liable in an action for civil damages brought against the employee by the offended party.”

(a) “Employee” means a public school employee

(d) “Person” means any individual, corporation, trust, association, any state or local government, or any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing.

It is the intent of the Legislature that school employees and other persons disclose, to the extent not expressly prohibited by law, improper governmental activities.

(c) “Improper governmental activity” means an activity by a public school agency or by an employee that is undertaken in the performance of the employee’s official duties, whether or not that activity is within the scope of his or her employment, and that meets either of the following descriptions:

(1) The activity violates a state or federal law or regulation, including, but not limited to, corruption, malfeasance, bribery, theft of government property, fraudulent claims, fraud, coercion, conversion, malicious prosecution, misuse of government property, or willful omission to perform duty.

(2) The activity is economically wasteful or involves gross misconduct, incompetency, or inefficiency.

Civil damages

(b) A person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar acts against a public school employee or applicant for employment with a public school employer for having made a protected disclosure is subject to a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed one year. Any public school employee, officer, or administrator who intentionally engages in that conduct shall also be subject to discipline by the public school employer. If no adverse action is instituted by the public school employer and it is determined that there is reasonable cause to believe that an act of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar acts prohibited by Section 44113 occurred, the local law enforcement agency may report the nature and details of the activity to the governing board of the school district or county board of education, as appropriate.

(c) In addition to all other penalties provided by law, a person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar acts against a public school employee or applicant for employment with a public school employer for having made a protected disclosure shall be liable in an action for damages brought against him or her by the injured party. Punitive damages may be awarded by the court where the acts of the offending party are proven to be malicious. Where liability has been established, the injured party shall also be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees as provided by law. However, an action for damages shall not be available to the injured party unless the injured party has first filed a complaint with the local law enforcement agency.

Employees

For purposes of Sections 1102.5, 1102.6, 1102.7, 1102.8, 1104, and 1105, “employee” includes, but is not limited to, any individual employed by the state or any subdivision thereof, any county, city, city and county, including any charter city or county, and any school district, community college district, municipal or public corporation, political subdivision, or the University of California.

(b) An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee for disclosing information, or because the employer believes that the employee disclosed or may disclose information,to a government or law enforcement agency, to a person with authority over the employee or another employee who has the authority to investigate, discover, or correct the violation or noncompliance, or for providing information to, or testifying before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal rule or regulation, regardless of whether disclosing the information is part of the employee’s job duties.

(c) An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee for refusing to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal rule or regulation.

 (d) An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee for having exercised his or her rights under subdivision (a), (b), or (c) in any former employment.

(e) A report made by an employee of a government agency to his or her employer is a disclosure of information to a government or law enforcement agency pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b).

Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the injured employee from recovering damages from his employer for injury suffered through a violation of this chapter.

In addition to other penalties, an employer that is a corporation or limited liability company is liable for a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation of this section

An employer or any other person or entity that violates this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable, in the case of an individual, by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year or a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or both that fine and imprisonment, or, in the case of a corporation, by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).

West’s Ann. Cal. Gov. Code § 12650, et seq.

Provision specific to retaliation: § 12653.

“Employee, contractor, or agent.”

“if that employee, contractor, or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of his or her employment because of lawful acts done by the employee, contractor, agent, or associated others in furtherance of an action under this section or other efforts to stop one or more violations of this article.”

“(b) Relief under this section shall include reinstatement with the same seniority status that the employee, contractor, or agent would have had but for the discrimination, two times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, and where appropriate, punitive damages. The defendant shall also be required to pay litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. An action under this section may be brought in the appropriate superior court of the state.”

Cal. Gov’t Code § 12900 et seq. (West)

Employees.

Complaining of harassment or discrimination on the basis of age, disability (mental or physical), gender, sex, national origin, race, religion, color, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation. 

Compensatory damages, such as emotional distress, economic damages, punitive damages attorney fees.

Only an employer can be held liable.

Cal. Labor Code § 98.6

Employees.

Initiating a proceeding or complaint under the jurisdiction of the Labor Commissioner; including complaints about unpaid wages; exercising any statutory rights the employee has; or testifying or about to testify in a proceeding.

Reinstatement, economic damages for lost wages and work benefits, and civil penalties.

West’s Ann. Cal. Labor Code § 6310.  See also §6399.7.

Employees/People

An employee cannot be retaliated or discriminated against for making a complaint to or assisting OSHA, causing a proceeding to be initiated, testifying in a proceeding or about to testify in a proceeding, or participating in an OSHA committee.

Reinstatement

Lost wages and work benefits

Employer can be charged with misdemeanor

2 CCR § 67

Patients, nurses, medical staff, health care workers

Reporting unsafe patient care and conditions to government entities.

Civil penalty, lost income, and legal costs associated with pursuing the case.

West’s Ann. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1278.5

California community college employees or applicants

Any state employee or applicant for state employment, or any employee or applicant for employment with a California Community College, who believes that he or she has been retaliated against in employment for having reported improper governmental activity, as that phrase is defined in Government Code section 8547.2(b), or Education Code section 87162(c), or for having refused to obey an illegal order or directive, as defined in Government Code section 8547.2(e), or Education Code section 87162(b), may file a complaint and/or appeal

A suspension without pay for 30 days, unless the Board determines that a lesser penalty is warranted.

Yes

Yes

Casella v. SouthWest Dealer Serv., 157 Cal. App. 4th 1127 (2007)

Ross v. Ragingwire Telecomm., Inc., 174 P.3d 200 (Cal. 2008)

Green v. Ralee Eng’g Co., 960 P.2d 1046 (Cal. 1998)

Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 610 P.2d 1330 (Cal. 1980)

Smith v. Brown-Forman Distillers Corp., 196 Cal. App. 3d 503 (1987)

1. Refusal to engage in criminal conduct
2. Situations where the policy violated is embodied in either a state or federal statue or constitution. In addition to being embodied in a statue or constitution, the policy must be substantial, fundamental, and beneficial for the public.
3. Refusing drug tests (there is a split within CA on whether this violates public policy based on CA’s constitutional privacy provision)

The remedies available under the public-protection case law are the same damages available for tort actions, which include compensatory and punitive damages.