Los Angeles Whistleblower Protection Lawyer

Finding out that your employer is taking part in illegal activities can be stressful, especially since many employees often have no idea what they are allowed to do in these situations. Worse yet, many times, they are too fearful to say anything about these illegal actions out of fear they will lose their job, position, and livelihood or that they will suffer from harassment, bars to advancement, or other adverse effects.

Thankfully, various state and federal laws provide workers the protection they need to report illegal activity in their workplace without fear of getting in trouble for these statements. In addition, the Federal and California False Claims Acts allow workers who discover fraudulent acts against the government to file a lawsuit and recover a portion of the damages.

Best of all, you will not have to tackle these complex legal issues alone. Instead, you can work with an experienced Los Angeles Whistleblower Protection Lawyer. These skilled attorneys can provide you with the legal help you need, the answers you want, and the advice required to help protect your rights.

A whistleblower in the employment context is a worker who reports a coworker, supervisor, or the company to the proper authorities for their immoral or illegal activity. To protect these individuals, whistleblower laws are in place to prevent them from being retaliated against in any capacity in the workplace. Retaliation can include termination, demotion, or creating a hostile work environment.

Generally, whistleblower laws protect employees who lawfully disclose information that they reasonably believe to be violating a law or regulation.

Under California, Labor Code Section 1102.5, employers are prohibited from retaliating against an employee who reasonably believes that the complaint discloses a violation of a law, whether it be a state or federal statute or regulation, or even a local rule or regulation. This statute protects employees who complain to the government, law enforcement, or another employee with supervisory authority or authority to investigate the complaint. It also protects employees who testify regarding the employer.

Generally, employees who complain about unsafe conditions on the premises or refuse to perform work because of hazardous conditions are protected by California Labor Code Sections 6310 and 6311. Health care employees who report dangerous conditions are covered by California Health and Safety Code Section 1278.5.

The California Whistleblower Protection Act, gives the California State Auditor the authority to investigate complaints about improper governmental activities and protects every state employee who files a complaint after suffering retaliation by their state employer.

Although retaliation can take on many forms, some of the more common examples of retaliation include:

• Intimidation
• Threat of adverse action
• Denial of appointment or promotion
• Demotion
• Denial of access to professional development opportunities or training
• An unreasonably poor performance evaluation
• Threatening to turn an employee into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they make a labor complaint
• Denial of resources necessary for the employee to do their job adequately
• An involuntary transfer
• Any other type of disciplinary action