(a) In addition to the prohibitions contained in Section 1102.5 of the Labor Code, a covered person or service provider shall not terminate or in any other way discriminate against, or cause to be terminated or discriminated against, any covered employee or any authorized representative of covered employees by reason of the fact that the employee or representative, whether at the initiative of the employee or in the ordinary course of the duties of the employee, or any person acting pursuant to a request of the employee, has either:
(1) Filed or instituted, or caused to be filed or instituted, any proceeding under any consumer financial law.
(2) Objected to, or refused to participate in, any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the employee or other such person reasonably believed to be in violation of any law, rule, order, standard, or prohibition, subject to the jurisdiction of, or enforceable by, the department.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term “covered employee” means any individual performing tasks related to the offering or provision of a consumer financial product or service.
(c) (1) A person who believes that they have been terminated or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of subdivision (a) shall have all remedies available under Section 1102.5 of the Labor Code, subject to the restrictions set forth in that section and the implementing regulations.
(2) This subdivision does not restrict the remedies available under this law.
(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 157, Sec. 7. (AB 1864) Effective January 1, 2021.)