Labor Code § 244
No administrative exhaustion before a Labor Code suit, unless expressly required
Labor Code claims generally need no administrative exhaustion — section 244(a) requires it only where the statute sued upon expressly demands it.
Read the official text at California Legislative Information →
Overview
Labor Code section 244 governs whether an employee must first pursue an administrative remedy before filing suit to enforce the Labor Code. Subdivision (a) answers that question with a default rule favoring access to court: exhaustion is not required unless the specific provision sued upon expressly demands it.
The provision matters most in whistleblower litigation, where defendants historically argued that a plaintiff had to seek relief from the Labor Commissioner under section 98.7 before going to court. Section 244(a) — and the case law construing it — foreclose that argument for claims, like section 1102.5, that contain no express exhaustion requirement.
The operative rule
An individual is not required to exhaust administrative remedies or procedures before bringing a civil action under any provision of the Labor Code, unless that provision under which the action is brought expressly requires exhaustion of an administrative remedy. The default is access to court; exhaustion is the narrow exception, triggered only by express statutory text.
Judicial construction
In Satyadi v. West Contra Costa Healthcare District, the Court of Appeal applied section 244(a) to a section 1102.5 claim and held that the plaintiff need not exhaust the Labor Commissioner remedy under section 98.7 before suing. The court treated the relevant amendment as clarifying, not changing, existing law: because section 1102.5 contains no express exhaustion requirement, none applies. (See Satyadi.)
Practice notes
Use section 244(a) to defeat an exhaustion defense to a section 1102.5 (or other non-conditioned) Labor Code claim. Before relying on it, read the precise statute sued upon to confirm it does not contain its own express exhaustion prerequisite; where a provision does require exhaustion, section 244(a) does not excuse it.
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.