If you identify as a whistleblower, you need to know the laws and statutes that protect you in California from retaliation or an employer punishing you for coming forward with your complaints or information.
If you are suffering from whistleblower retaliation in San Diego, the attorneys at Fairchild Employment Law can help you hold the employer accountable. With our assistance, you may be able to recover financial compensation for your losses and motivate changes on an institutional level.
Why Choose Us for Your Whistleblower Retaliation Case?
- We have a history of representing wronged workers and whistleblowers in California. Our attorneys have secured millions of dollars in back pay and financial compensation for clients.
- We can build your whistleblower retaliation lawsuit with legal strategies that win. As a former defense attorney, Jillian Fairchild knows how employers think and operate. We have won six-figure settlements for clients who experienced whistleblower retaliation.
- Our San Diego whistleblower retaliation attorneys operate on a contingency fee* basis. This means you’ll only be charged attorney’s fees by our firm if we win your case.
What Can an Employment Attorney Do for You?
If you have suffered from any form of unlawful whistleblower retaliation in San Diego, you may be entitled to justice in the form of monetary recovery. A San Diego whistleblower attorney at Fairchild Employment Law can help you achieve the best possible case results with aggressive legal strategies and representation in and out of the courtroom.
We can help you understand and protect your rights as a whistleblower in California, even if this means taking your retaliation case to trial in San Diego County. We have the resources to hire subject-matter experts to strengthen your case, as needed, and litigate against a powerful employer. At every phase of the legal process, you will benefit from direct care and attention from your lawyer.
What is Whistleblower Retaliation?
A whistleblower is an individual who exposes wrongdoing within a company or organization, such as legal violations, noncompliance with anti-discrimination or harassment laws, or activities that endanger public health. They may report issues involving disability discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, or unequal pay practices, either internally within the company or to authorized investigators, such as government agencies and law enforcement. They may also go public with information via the media.
Whistleblower retaliation is the unlawful act of an employer punishing or acting against an employee for becoming a whistleblower. Examples include firing, demoting, transferring, harassing, bullying, threatening, or intimidating the worker. Since reporting illegal acts is a protected activity under federal discrimination laws, any form of retaliation is prohibited. A San Diego whistleblower attorney can explain all your rights to you.
Your Protections Under California Law
Workers in California are protected specifically from employer retaliation for “blowing the whistle” or disclosing information on unlawful practices by the employer under California Labor Code § 1102.5(b).
This law bans employers from retaliating against an employee for disclosing information (or the belief that the employee has disclosed information) to an authority figure regarding a violation or noncompliance of a local, state, or federal rule or regulation.
Your Right To Report Illegal Activity
California Labor Code § 1102.5 is one of the most robust whistleblower protection statutes in the country. It gives you the right to report suspected violations of the law without fear of being punished by your employer. This protection applies whether you report the issue internally to a supervisor or externally to a government or law enforcement agency.
A few important details set California’s law apart from the protections available in many other states:
- You are protected even if the violation you reported turns out to be unsubstantiated, as long as you had reasonable cause to believe it was real at the time.
- You are protected even if reporting misconduct is part of your regular job duties.
- Your protections carry over to future employment. Your former employer cannot retaliate against you for whistleblowing activity that took place while you worked there.
- Under § 1102.5(h), family members of whistleblowers are also shielded from retaliation.
These protections make it clear that California expects employees to be able to speak up about illegal conduct without risking their careers or their livelihoods.
Types of Activities That Are Protected
The scope of protected activity under California whistleblower law is broad; you do not need to report a confirmed violation or file a formal complaint for your actions to qualify. The following types of conduct are protected under state law:
- Disclosing suspected violations of any local, state, or federal statute, rule, or regulation to your employer or to a government agency
- Refusing to participate in activity that you reasonably believe would violate the law
- Providing information to or testifying before any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry
- Reporting wage and hour violations
- Raising concerns about unsafe working conditions
- Reporting patient care violations in a healthcare setting
Retaliation can take many forms beyond termination as well. Things like demotions, pay cuts, negative performance reviews, schedule changes, and reassignments can all qualify as adverse actions under the law if they are linked to your protected activity.
Compensation and Penalties for Whistleblower Retaliation
If your employer retaliates against you for whistleblowing, the financial consequences for them can be significant. Employees who prevail on a claim under Labor Code § 1102.5 may be entitled to:
- Back pay for lost wages and benefits
- Front pay for future lost earnings
- Emotional distress damages
- Reinstatement to your former position
- Reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs
- A civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation, awarded directly to you
Under SB 497, which took effect on January 1, 2024, California law now creates a rebuttable presumption that any adverse action taken against you within 90 days of your protected activity was retaliatory. This shifts the burden to your employer to prove that their decision was made for legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons. If they cannot meet that burden, the presumption stands in your favor.
Note that the statute of limitations for filing a whistleblower retaliation claim under § 1102.5 is three years from the date of the retaliatory act in most cases. However, seeking legal advice as soon as you can is strongly recommended so that your claim gets off on the right start.
Contact Us for a Free Whistleblower Retaliation Case Review in San Diego
You have already faced enough hardship and stress as a whistleblower in San Diego. Do not tolerate unlawful retaliation from an employer. Contact Fairchild Employment Law for a free consultation about your situation and legal rights. Our San Diego whistleblower attorney will listen to your story and assess your case to determine if you have a viable claim for damages. If so, our lawyers will draw on years of experience to optimize your case results as much as possible. The fight for justice as a victim of whistleblower retaliation starts here. Send us a message or call (619) 306-1454 now to request a free case evaluation.
*Disclaimer: Fairchild Employment Law offers cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that we do not get paid until you do via settlement or judgment. Please note that clients are financially responsible for court costs and case expenses, such as filing fees, deposition transcripts, and expert witness fees. Court costs and case expenses are generally deducted from the total settlement or verdict after our percentage is calculated and will be outlined clearly in your contract. The client will be held responsible for any costs advanced when no recovery is obtained on behalf of the client.