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Labor Code Section 6310: No Retaliation for Reporting Unsafe Work Conditions

It happens all too often: actual or threatened violence or other unsafe conditions in the workplace. Many workers want to do the right thing. They want to report such dangerous conditions to either their employer or a government agency – but they are afraid of suffering retaliation.  

Fortunately, California law protects workers from employer retaliation for reporting unsafe working conditions, including workplace violence, threatening behavior, and dangerous conditions.

Fighting to protect the rights of employees in Los Angeles and throughout the region, The Cowan Law Firm will help you obtain the compensation that you deserve. Call Employee Rights Attorney Jeffrey Cowan to learn how he can put his knowledge and experience to work for you.

Whistleblower Protection Afforded by California Labor Code Section 6310

        

California Labor Code Section 6310 applies to employers (and any person acting on the employer’s behalf).

It protects employees – including family members of whistleblowers – from retaliation for either the employee having done any of the following, or out of fear that the employee might do any of the following:

1. Reporting workplace safety issues to an employer;

2. Complaining about employee safety or health to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”);

3. Starting or testifying at any OSHA proceeding;

4. Participating in an OSHA committee; and

5. Reporting a work-related fatality, injury, or illness, or requesting access to occupational injury or illness reports and records, or exercising any other rights protected by OSHA (except in cases where retaliation is alleged because he or she has filed or made known his or her intention to file a workers’ compensation claim, which is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board).

Labor Code § 6310 bars retaliation in many forms, including:

Being fired;

Harassment;

Pay cuts;

Being demoted without a good reason (i.e., “without cause”);

Cutting or ending employee job benefits;

Being suspended;

Forcing an employee to quit by subjecting her to workplace conduct that no reasonable employee would endure; and

Threatening any one of the above.

Some examples of people whom this law has protected are:

An elevator mechanic who reported a safety issue with a department store’s elevator to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health;

A teacher who complained about potentially violent students;

A doctor or nurse who reports unsafe practices in a hospital; and

A warehouse or factory worker who reports safety rule violations

These claims can be complicated and difficult to investigate, and they may have statutes of limitation (i.e., deadlines to file suit) as short as a year, so it is important to act as quickly as possible. Failing to file your whistleblower lawsuit within the required time will bar your right to sue for the harms that you have suffered.

Contact Whistleblower / Unsafe Working Conditions Lawyer Jeffrey Cowan

If you think you may have been retaliated against for reporting unsafe work conditions or participating in any OSHA investigation of working conditions, then contact Los Angeles and Beverly Hills employment lawyer Jeffrey W. Cowan and The Cowan Law Firm at (310) 394-1420 or info@cowan-law.com.

Los Angeles’ best lawyers have honored Jeffrey W. Cowan by giving him Martindale-Hubbell’s “AV” rated “Preeminent Attorney” rating (awarded to only the top 5% of the profession) every year since 2002, and supporting his selection as a Southern California Super Lawyer since 2007. Jeffrey Cowan is one of Southern California’s most highly respected employment lawyers, and he has substantial experience prosecuting and investigating workplace whistleblower and retaliation lawsuits.