WALLEN LAWSON, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. PPG ARCHITECTURAL FINISHES, INC., Defendant and Respondent., 12 Cal. 5th 703

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-In answer to a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the court held that Lab. Code, § 1102.6, provided the governing framework for presenting and evaluating a whistleblower retaliation claim under Lab. Code, § 1102.5, and that the McDonnell Douglas test was inapplicable because a plaintiff-employee's burden under § 1102.6 was to establish retaliation as a contributing factor by a preponderance of the evidence, after which the burden shifted to the employer to demonstrate a legitimate, independent reason for the adverse action by clear and convincing evidence, and § 1102.6 did not require the employee to show that the employer's nonretaliatory reason was pretextual; [2]-The McDonnell Douglas test could not be applied either at summary judgment or at trial because it was incompatible with the § 1102.6 contributing factor standard.