What to do When Your Employer Retaliates Against You for Whistleblowing

You blew the whistle on your employer’s illegal actions, and now your employer is retaliating against you. This is not an unusual situation, but it is an illegal one. Both federal law and California law protect whistleblower employees from employer retaliation and impose large fines on employers who choose to ignore this law. If you have been retaliated against at work for whistleblowing, you may be wondering what you can do to remedy this situation. Contact the attorneys at Willoughby Brod today to have your case reviewed for free and receive actionable next steps for what you can do in this situation.

Make Sure Your Whistleblower Actions are Protected in California

California offers general whistleblower protections that protect whistleblowers from being retaliated against by their employers for disclosing or refusing to participate in suspected illegal activities, but it also offers whistleblower protections in the following specific circumstances:

Refusing to engage in illegal actions under FEHA: Employee whistleblowers may not be retaliated against by their employers for refusing to engage in practices that have been made illegal under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) or reporting violations under FEHA. FEHA prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation.
Filing a complaint under California’s Hazardous Substances Information and Training Act: Employee whistleblowers may not be retaliated against by their employers for filing a complaint, lawsuit, or otherwise exercising a right under California’s Hazardous Substances Information and Training Act.
Reporting a health care violation: Employee whistleblowers in the health care sector may not be retaliated against by their employers for reporting a health care violation or initiating a government investigation into the health care facility.
Reporting a DOSH violation: Employee whistleblowers may not be retaliated against by their employers for reporting a violation, filing a lawsuit, or otherwise exercising a right under California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).

If you are not sure whether your whistleblower conduct falls under one of the above listed categories or whether it is protected in California, contact the attorneys at Willoughby Brod for a free case review.

Call an Experienced California Whistleblower Attorney

Once you have determined that your whistleblower conduct is protected in California, the next step is to contact an experienced whistleblower attorney who can help you determine your best course of action, which may include filing a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner or the California State Personnel Board and subsequently filing a lawsuit against your employer. While you may be tempted to confront your employer on your own, the chances that you will obtain your desired result by confronting the employer who just retaliated against you is slim. If your employer was interested in working things out with you, chances are they would not have retaliated against you in the way that they did.

Employee retaliation is illegal in California and can result in heavy fines, so do not simply let it slide. You deserve to receive compensation for the unjust acts committed against you, and the experienced whistleblower attorneys at Willoughby Brod can help you achieve your desired outcome. Contact us today at (800) 427-7020 or visit us online to schedule your free consultation.

(image courtesy of Benjamin Child)