Supreme Court of California

Under the California Whistleblower Protection Act section 8547.8(c), an employee complaining of whistleblower retaliation may bring an action for damages in superior court, but only after the employee files a complaint with the State Personnel Board and the board "has issued, or failed to issue, findings." So long as the board has issued findings (or the deadline for issuing findings has passed), the employee may proceed with a damages action in superior court regardless of whether the board's findings are favorable or unfavorable to the employee. Moreover, once the board has issued findings, the employee need not pursue additional administrative remedies and need not challenge the findings by way of a petition for a writ of administrative mandate.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/26/2009
• Published 02/26/2009

Judges

• KENNARD, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, David Chaney, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gordon Burns, Deputy State Solicitor General, Jacob Appelsmith, Assistant Attorney General, Vincent J. Scally, Jr., Miguel Neri, Fiel D. Tigno, Alicia M.B. Fowler, Lyn Harlan and Noreen P. Skelly, Deputy Attorneys General, for Petitioners., Garcia & Associates and Gaspar Garcia II, Sacramento, for Real Party in Interest.


• For Appellees:
  
• No appearance for Respondent.