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✦ Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — Certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization ✦
Serving injured workers across California. Board-certified specialist; no fee unless we win.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
In California, Labor Code §132a bars an employer from firing or discriminating against a worker for filing a workers' compensation claim. Remedies include reinstatement, back wages, a $10,000 increase in compensation, and costs up to $250. Yazdchi Law, a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law firm, handles §132a claims statewide. Request a free case review.
Under California Labor Code §132a, a California employer may not discharge, threaten to discharge, or in any manner discriminate against a worker because the worker filed or intends to file a workers' compensation claim, received an award, or testified or intended to testify in another worker's case. The statute reaches firings, demotions, denied promotions, schedule manipulation, hostile treatment, and any other adverse employment action causally connected to the claim. The injured worker bears the initial burden of showing the adverse action and the connection to the claim. For the statewide framework, see California workers' comp retaliation pillar.
California Labor Code §132a provides specific statutory remedies: reinstatement to the worker's former position, back wages and benefits lost as a result of the discriminatory act, an increase in workers' compensation of $10,000, and costs and expenses not exceeding $250. The $10,000 increase is paid by the employer, not the insurance carrier, and is in addition to the regular workers' compensation indemnity. A §132a petition is filed with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, not in superior court. Related coverage: California Labor Code §3351 (undocumented-worker coverage).
Under California Labor Code §132a, a Petition for Discrimination must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board within one year of the discriminatory act. The one-year clock starts when the adverse employment action occurs — typically the firing, demotion, or denial of benefits — and runs strictly. The §132a deadline is distinct from the underlying workers' compensation claim deadline under California Labor Code §5405 and runs on its own clock. Lea esta página en español: qué es la represalia bajo el Código Laboral §132a (versión en español).
When a California employer threatens to report a worker to immigration authorities in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim, the conduct violates both California Labor Code §132a and California Labor Code §244. Section 244 specifically bars an employer from using immigration status as retaliation for the exercise of labor rights, and California Labor Code §3351 confirms that California workers' compensation coverage extends to every worker regardless of immigration status. Section 244 carries additional penalties beyond the §132a remedies. Related coverage: California undocumented-worker rights pillar. Statute deep-dive: California Labor Code §5811 (interpreter rights at WCAB).
A §132a claim under California Labor Code §132a requires evidence of the protected activity (filing or intending to file a workers' compensation claim), the adverse employment action, and a causal connection between the two. Common evidence includes timing (firing soon after the DWC-1 was filed), written communications, comparator evidence (similarly situated workers treated differently), and direct admissions by supervisors. California law places the burden of producing a non-retaliatory reason on the employer once the worker establishes a prima facie case.
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Tap to call →Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., May 2026.
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