Whistleblower Protections

The California Whistleblower Protection Act (the "Act"), which gives the California State Auditor the authority to receive and investigate complaints about improper governmental activities, also protects every state employee who files a complaint from suffering any retaliation by his or her state employer for having made the complaint. The Whistleblower Protection Act forbids every state official and employee from retaliating or attempting to retaliate against any employee or applicant for employment who reports an improper activity. Retaliation includes intimidation, the denial of appointment or promotion, a threat of adverse action, a poor performance evaluation, involuntary transfer, or any form of disciplinary action.

The California State Auditor does not provide remedies for retaliation, as that responsibility has been assigned to other agencies. If you believe you are the victim of retaliation as a result of filing a complaint with the California State Auditor's Office, you may obtain assistance from the following resources:

• If you are a state employee, you may report retaliation by contacting the State Personnel Board, in writing, at 801 Capitol Mall, MS53, Sacramento, CA 95814. For information about making a report call (916) 653-1403.
• If you are an employee of the University of California, you may report retaliation by contacting your human resources department or the designated official for the campus where the retaliation occurred. A list of designated officials may be found here.
• If you are an employee of the California State University, you may report retaliation by contacting the vice chancellor for human resources, in writing, at 401 Golden Shore, Long Beach, CA 90802. For information about making a report call (562) 951-4425.