Labor Code § 98.6
Anti-retaliation protection for employees who assert Labor Code rights
Section 98.6 protects employees from discharge or retaliation for exercising Labor Code rights — including filing a Labor Commissioner complaint — with reinstatement, back pay, and a civil penalty.
Read the official text at California Legislative Information →
Overview
Labor Code section 98.6 is a broad anti-retaliation provision that protects employees who exercise rights under the Labor Code, including the right to complain to the Labor Commissioner. It often travels alongside a section 1102.5 whistleblower claim, supplying an additional protected-activity theory and an additional set of remedies.
Where section 1102.5 focuses on disclosures of suspected legal violations, section 98.6 sweeps in the broader category of employees who assert or invoke Labor Code rights — and it expressly reaches conduct protected by section 1102.5 itself.
Protected conduct and remedies
An employer may not discharge, discriminate against, retaliate against, or take adverse action against an employee or applicant because the person filed or threatened to file a complaint or claim with the Labor Commissioner, instituted a proceeding under the Labor Commissioner’s jurisdiction, testified in such a proceeding, or otherwise exercised rights protected under the Labor Code — including the rights protected by section 1102.5.
A prevailing employee is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement of lost wages and work benefits, and the statute authorizes a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per employee per violation, payable to the affected employee.
How it fits with section 1102.5
Because section 98.6 and section 1102.5 protect overlapping but distinct conduct, plaintiffs commonly plead them together: section 1102.5 for the disclosure of a suspected legal violation, and section 98.6 where the protected activity also includes a Labor Commissioner complaint or other assertion of Labor Code rights. Pleading both broadens the protected-activity theory and the available remedies. (See Labor Code § 1102.5.)
Practice notes
Screen the facts for any Labor Commissioner activity or assertion of wage-and-hour or other Labor Code rights; if present, add a section 98.6 count. Confirm the specific protected activity falls within the statute, and calendar the applicable limitations period for the retaliation claim.
Related on this site
Practitioner analysis, current as of June 2026 — not the statute itself. Statutes are amended and decisional law evolves; confirm the operative language and current authority at the official source before relying.