In Diego v. Pilgrim United Church of Christ, a
California appellate court held that an employee was protected from
retaliation under the California Labor Code (former section
1102.5(b)) when her employer mistakenly believed that she reported
violations of state regulations by her employer to a government
agency.
Cecilia Diego was a "mentor teacher" at Pilgrim
United's preschool. Her supervisor, and director of the
preschool, was Anne Lewis. Responding to an anonymous complaint
about conditions at the preschool that allegedly violated various
California regulations, the Community Care Licensing Division of
the California Department of Social Services
("Licensing") made an unannounced visit to the preschool
to conduct an inspection. Diego's coworker (Cynthia Saldana)
had told Diego before the inspection that she (Saldana) had made
the complaint.
