Takeaway: Using the more employee-friendly standard recently set forth by the California Supreme Court for analyzing whistleblower retaliation claims, an appellate court nonetheless found that a terminated employee could not go forward with her claim.

Where an employer had undisputed evidence that its decision to terminate an employee would have occurred for legitimate, independent reasons even if she had not engaged in activities protected by California's whistleblower law, the employee could not go forward with her whistleblower retaliation claim, a California appeals court ruled.
The appellate court applied the whistleblower retaliation test recently enunciated by California's highest court in Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, which made it easier for an employee to prove whistleblower retaliation, but still ruled in the employer's favor.
After the employee was terminated from her position as an administrative analyst with Sacramento County, she sued the county for unlawful retaliation under Labor Code section 1102.5, which protects whistleblowing employees.
Under this statute, an employer cannot retaliate against an employee for disclosing information that the employee has reasonable cause to believe reveals a violation of a local, state or federal law. The employee alleged that, in violation of this statute, the county retaliated against her after she reported that she was working below her service classification.
The trial court dismissed the lawsuit before...

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