Legal Developments
Recent California employment-law developments in Retaliation.
The Second District held that a trial court abused its discretion by capping “garden-variety” emotional distress damages and rejecting a plaintiff’s own testimony about future economic loss—reinstating a multimillion-dollar jury verdict.
The Ninth Circuit laid out the four-part test for a federal whistleblower claim under the NDAA and held that a descriptive grant report and a rhetorical question were not protected disclosures—affirming summary judgment for the employer.
The First District held that a government claim form alleging ongoing retaliation must state a date or date range for the wrongful conduct—and that listing the date of loss as “numerous” and “ongoing” neither complies nor substantially complies with the Government Claims Act.
The Fourth District held that a trial court must consider the mandatory $1,000 discovery sanction under Code of Civil Procedure section 2023.050, which applies even when a self-represented party incurred no expenses.
The Ninth Circuit held that a dispute “arises” under the EFAA when an employee registers disagreement and the employer opposes it—and that a pre-2022 dispute must go to arbitration.
The Ninth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14,251, holding that on this record the government showed the President would have excluded the agencies from federal collective bargaining even without any retaliatory motive.
The Third District held that an arbitrator’s award offsetting a suspension the State Personnel Board had upheld did not violate public policy—and ordered the award confirmed in full.
Assembly Bill 288 lets certain private-sector workers petition California’s Public Employment Relations Board to enforce organizing and bargaining rights when the National Labor Relations Board cedes or loses jurisdiction, with phased-in case deadlines beginning in 2026.
Assembly Bill 858 extends California’s recall and retention rights for laid-off workers in hotel, event center, airport, and building-service enterprises, keeping Labor Code section 2810.8 operative until January 1, 2027.
Senate Bill 294 requires California employers to give employees an annual written notice of workplace and constitutional rights, offer an emergency-contact option, and notify that contact if an employee is arrested or detained at work.