98.6
. (a) A person shall not discharge an employee or in any manner
discriminate, retaliate, or take any adverse action against any
employee or applicant for employment because the employee or
applicant engaged in any conduct delineated in this chapter,
including the conduct described in subdivision (k) of Section 96, and
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1101) of Part 3 of Division 2, or
because the employee or applicant for employment has filed a bona
fide complaint or claim or instituted or caused to be instituted any
proceeding under or relating to his or her rights that are under the
jurisdiction of the Labor Commissioner, made a written or oral
complaint that he or she is owed unpaid wages, or because the
employee has initiated any action or notice pursuant to Section 2699,
or has testified or is about to testify in a proceeding pursuant to
that section, or because of the exercise by the employee or applicant
for employment on behalf of himself, herself, or others of any
rights afforded him or her.
(b) (1) Any employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge,
demoted, suspended, retaliated against, subjected to an adverse
action, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and
conditions of his or her employment because the employee engaged in
any conduct delineated in this chapter, including the conduct
described in subdivision (k) of Section 96, and Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 1101) of Part 3 of Division 2, or because the employee
has made a bona fide complaint or claim to the division pursuant to
this part, or because the employee has initiated any action or notice
pursuant to Section 2699 shall be entitled to reinstatement and
reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by those acts
of the employer.
(2) An employer who willfully refuses to hire, promote, or
otherwise restore an employee or former employee who has been
determined to be eligible for rehiring or promotion by a grievance
procedure, arbitration, or hearing authorized by law, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(3) In addition to other remedies available, an employer who
violates this section is liable for a civil penalty not exceeding ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) per employee for each violation of this
section, to be awarded to the employee or employees who suffered the
violation.
(c) (1) Any applicant for employment who is refused employment,
who is not selected for a training program leading to employment, or
who in any other manner is discriminated against in the terms and
conditions of any offer of employment because the applicant engaged
in any conduct delineated in this chapter, including the conduct
described in subdivision (k) of Section 96, and Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 1101) of Part 3 of Division 2, or because the applicant
has made a bona fide complaint or claim to the division pursuant to
this part, or because the employee has initiated any action or notice
pursuant to Section 2699 shall be entitled to employment and
reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of
the prospective employer.
(2) This subdivision shall not be construed to invalidate any
collective bargaining agreement that requires an applicant for a
position that is subject to the collective bargaining agreement to
sign a contract that protects either or both of the following as
specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B), nor shall this subdivision be
construed to invalidate any employer requirement of an applicant for
a position that is not subject to a collective bargaining agreement
to sign an employment contract that protects either or both of the
following:
(A) An employer against any conduct that is actually in direct
conflict with the essential enterprise-related interests of the
employer and where breach of that contract would actually constitute
a material and substantial disruption of the employer's operation.
(B) A firefighter against any disease that is presumed to arise in
the course and scope of employment, by limiting his or her
consumption of tobacco products on and off the job.
(d) The provisions of this section creating new actions or
remedies that are effective on January 1, 2002, to employees or
applicants for employment do not apply to any state or local law
enforcement agency, any religious association or corporation
specified in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 of the Government Code,
except as provided in Section 12926.2 of the Government Code, or any
person described in Section 1070 of the Evidence Code.
(e) An employer, or a person acting on behalf of the employer,
shall not retaliate against an employee because the employee is a
family member of a person who has, or is perceived to have, engaged
in any conduct delineated in this chapter.
(f) For purposes of this section, "employer" or "a person acting
on behalf of the employer" includes, but is not limited to, a client
employer as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
2810.3 and an employer listed in subdivision (b) of Section 6400.
(g) Subdivisions (e) and (f) shall not apply to claims arising
under subdivision (k) of Section 96 unless the lawful conduct
occurring during nonwork hours away from the employer's premises
involves the exercise of employee rights otherwise covered under
subdivision (a).