Whistleblower
The law protects employees who report illegal or unsafe practices.
A whistleblower is someone who stands for what he or she reasonably believes is right and opposes or reports a violation of law or regulation, or endangerment of the public. These can be reports of environmental, health or safety violations along with other unlawful activities. Whistleblowers are necessary to keep society safe. At times employees witness or are expected to participate in activities that are illegal. Yet reporting illegal activity or refusing to participate may mean risking your job, or being punished for your opposition by your employer.
An employee becomes a whistleblower when a violation of law occurs, or is perceived to occur and the employee reports the violation to a person with the power to stop or investigate the workplace violation. It is illegal for employers to retaliate or terminate an employee for refusing to participate in, or remain silent about an unlawful activity when the employee reports activities that they reasonable believe violate state or federal laws. It is also unlawful for an employer to prevent you from reporting the unlawful activities to the proper authorities such as law enforcement, human resources, a supervisor or any other person with the authority to investigate and correct the unlawful activity.
Have Questions About Wrongful Termination Or Your Employee Rights?
If you believe you were fired for an unlawful reason, our experienced employment attorneys can help you understand your rights and explore your legal options under California law.
Cal. Labor Code § 1102.5(b) provides, "An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee ... 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 ... 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."
To prevail with this type of claim the employee is required to only show that the termination or retaliation was a contributing factor for the termination. (Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. (2022) 12 Ca1.5th 703,718.) Whether there was an actual violation of law, and whether an employee is 100% certain of that, are not the issues. "[A]n employee need not prove an actual violation of law," (Green v. Ralee Engineering Co. (1998) 19 Ca1.4th 66, 87, because the question is just whether the employee who is terminated in retaliation for his/her report had "reasonable cause to believe" there was a violation of law, or "reasonably based suspicions" of illegal activity. Green v. Ralee Engineering Co. (1998) 19 Ca1.4th 66, 87; Ross v. County of Riverside (2019) 36 Cal.App.5th 580, 592. Nor does this protection only extend to employees who legal knowledge equal to lawyers or experts in the law: an employee need not expressly identify any specific law, but need only "disclose information" and have "reasonable cause to believe" it discloses unlawful activity. Ross, 36 Cal.App.5th at 592-93.
We recently completed an arbitration of the termination of a whistleblower and long term employee at a car dealership. We were able to prove he was terminated in part for his report and opposition to the dealership’s parts handling practices that he believed put the public at risk. We obtained a total award of damages, fees and costs of $5,809,745.
If you believe your rights have been violated in retaliation for your report or opposition to an activity you reasonable believed to be unlawful call our office so that you can work with an attorney who is experienced in handling whistleblower claims.
Associations
