Sacramento Employment Lawyer

California Employment Law: Whistleblower Retaliation Protection After Complaining about Safety Violations

California Labor Code section 6399.7 states that no person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because of protected conduct, nor shall any pay, seniority, or other benefits be lost for exercise of any such right. This protection extends to filing any complaint or testifying in any matter related to occupational safety.

This provision is a powerful protection in those relatively common situations where a production/assembly plant employee complains to his boss about a certain dangerous condition or safety violation at workplace. After not having those concerns addressed, the employee contacts OSHA or any other governmental agency in charge of enforcing specific safety regulations. Shortly after the management is contacted by the agency, the employer is likely to feel "back-stabbed" and will engage in a campaign of discrimination, harassment and creating hostile work environment for the employee that only wanted to make sure that his workplace is safe for himself and his co-workers. 

It is important to note, that the protection against retaliation extends to those employees who "reasonable believe" that safety violations take place. This means that the employee does not have to prove that the workplace is unsafe or in violation of any code, but only has to "reasonably believe" that such violations take place. Thus, in many cases, even though the employer proves that no violation took place and that the employer was in compliance with all the rules, the employee still prevailed on his retaliation claim, after the employer suspended, demoted, or terminated the complainant.

Workplace Retaliation and Wrongful Termination in Sacramento

One of the most common reasons that managers and supervisors retaliate against their employees is because they complain about harassment by the same manager/supervisor to higher ranked executive.
None of us like the complainer - someone who goes "behind our back" to tell on us to someone who has power over us. However, while in social situations saying negative things about someone might be rude and unacceptable, an aggrieved employee who feels helpless to resolve his issues at workplace with his/her immediate supervisor usually doesn't have a choice - the only person who he can and must turn to, as per the company's policies, is his boss' boss. This often leads to attempts by the worker's supervisor to retaliate against the complainant. Most supervisors no that retaliation (one kind of retaliation is taking adverse action against an employee because he complained about sexual or gender harassment, or harassment due to one's race or disability) at workplace is illegal in California, and therefore they will try to make the worker's life harder in more subtle but equally painful ways, such as issuing unfounded negative performance reviews, falsely accusing an employee of misconduct or even violence at workplace and otherwise trying to build a record or a paper trial to get rid of the employee. 

If you enjoy your work and your workplace, and there is only one or two "rotten apples" that try to retaliate against you for your complaint, it is important that you discuss this situation with an experienced employment lawyer, with whom you would be able to come up with a strategy to deal with your specific situation, considering all the unique facts and circumstances of your career and workplace. Even though I am making a living out of both suing and defending employers, I firmly believe and convey to my clients that a job is better than a lawsuit a no job.