Ninoos Benjamin worked as a Director of Economic Division of the City of Los Angeles’ Community Development Department (CDD). According to several news outlets, Benjamin sued the city claiming retaliation for his whistleblowing activities and for refusing to take sides in a race turf war between African-American and Latino managers in the department. When he refused to assist a manager in a political slander campaign against a Latino manager, he was told, “you are either with us, or you are against us.” When he reported this incident to CDD’s Director, his complaint was ignored.
Benjamin also raised his concerns to the Mayor’s Office and other government agencies, that the city failed to comply with federal regulations and may have misused federal funds. The city was ultimately audited and sanctioned by Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Benjamin claimed that in retaliation for these activities, he was subjected to daily harassment by managers at the department. A manager also reported him for allegedly having a violent temper. He was then terminated.
The employer denied that there was retaliation against Benjamin, claiming that he was terminated because he created a hostile work environment because of his temper. The person who authorized his termination claimed that she did not know about his whistleblowing activities, even though she personally handled one of the projects that Benjamin had initially reported to the HUD as not meeting federal regulations.
The trial lasted 13 days, at the end of which the jury found in favor of the employee and awarded him $758,205 in damages.
The California Whistleblower Protection Act protects whistleblowing state employees from retaliation by their employers. It provides for civil liability against any person who intentionally threatens or retaliates against a state employee for making a ‘protected disclosure.’
A “protected disclosure” is a good faith communication disclosing information that may show an ‘improper governmental activity’ or a condition that may significantly threaten the health or safety of employees or the public.
The law further provides that an employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee for providing information to a government or law enforcement agency, where the employee reasonably believes that a violation of state or federal laws has occurred. The employer cannot also retaliate against an employee who refuses to participate in activities that violate the law.
How does an employee prove to the court that the employer has engaged in illegal retaliation?
First, the employee must show that he/she engaged in a protected activity, such as providing information on an unlawful activity, cooperating with or testifying before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry.
Second, the employee must show that the employer subjected the employee to an adverse employment action, such as demotion or a termination.
And lastly, there must be a ‘causal link’ between the employee’s and the employer’s respective conduct. A causal link may be established by an inference through circumstantial evidence. For example, the employer knew that the employee engaged in protected activity and immediately after, the employee was fired. Evidence that the employer knew about the employee’s protected activity is important in establishing the causal link.
California’s anti-retaliation law protecting whistleblowers apply to employees who complain within a company about unlawful practices. Employees are also protected when they truly believe the conduct they complained about was unlawful, even if it was not.
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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant recoveries for thousands of employees and consumers. He is named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.