Q: MY co-workers and I have been having an issue getting our paychecks on time from our manager. Sometimes we would go more than a month without getting paid, which I know is illegal. When the Regional Manager—our manager’s boss—came to visit, I took the opportunity to let him know about the late paychecks. I thought he would help make sure that it doesn’t happen anymore.
Instead, he accused me of making trouble for the company and fired me. He didn’t even look into it; he just said that he’s known my manager for a long time and couldn’t believe what I said. Is there any protection in the law against my getting fired like that?
A: Yes, I believe you may have been the victim of unlawful whistleblower retaliation. First of all, you are correct that not paying employees their wages for more than a month is against California law. Under Labor Code Section 204, employers are required to pay employees’ wages at least twice a month, on regular paydays designated in advance. So when you complained about the late paychecks to the Regional Manager, you were complaining about violations of a California statute.
Under Labor Code Section 1102.5(b), it is unlawful for “an employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer” to “retaliate against an employee for disclosing information…to a person with authority over the employee or another employee who has the authority to investigate,” about “violation[s] of [a] state or federal statute.” That appears to be what happened in your...
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