In a decision issued on May 22, 2023, the California Supreme Court sided with the state’s labor commissioner and held that the state’s whistleblower statute (Labor Code § 1102.5(b)) protects employees who disclose unlawful activity even if the recipient employer or agency already knows of the violation. This broad interpretation of the whistleblower statute is consistent with the federal whistleblower protections and will enable multiple employees to receive whistleblower protection for reporting the same violation to an employer or agency.
In 2014, a bartender at an Orange County nightclub complained to the club owner that she had not been paid past wages. The club owner responded by threatening to report her to immigration authorities, terminating her employment and telling her to never return to the club. The bartender filed a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement which determined that the club owner’s actions violated California law and proposed remedies. After the club declined to accept the proposed remedies, the labor commissioner filed an enforcement action, alleging violations of the Labor Code, including section 1102.5(b), the whistleblower statute which protects employees against retaliation for “disclosing information” about unlawful activity to their employer or government agency.
The trial court and appellate court found that a private employee’s report of unlawful activity directly to the wrongdoing employer is not a...
Hyderabad: BRS leader Aedla Sudhakar Reddy strongly criticised the statements of HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath regarding the status of Bathukammakunta. The official had claimed that the place...