- Jurisdiction
- California
People in California who are subjected to "threat investigations" by their employers should read this!
Before I left my now-former employer, the employer subjected me to a threat investigation with their threat-assessment team. It happened because an external person, who had "an axe to grind" against me, vindictively contacted my employer and made aspersions about me to get me in trouble at work. My employer's threat-management team interrogated me about my dealings with that external person which were non-work-related, as well as about all sorts of other matters. The whole time, the threat-assessment team refused to divulge to me what wrongdoing I was even accused of, and why they were interrogating me. They required me to comply in answering all of their questions, but they wouldn't answer mine. They thought that they could cover up all of the details of the investigation from me.
Well, now, things are changing. I found out about a California law, California Labor Code Section 1198.5. This statute says: "Every current and former employee, or his or her representative, has the right to inspect and receive a copy of the personnel records that the employer maintains relating to the employee's performance or to any grievance concerning the employee." How utterly serendipitous and applicable to my situation! Thus, I have written a letter to my now-former employer, requesting a copy of all of their records about me that are covered by that statute. As part of the request, I have demanded all of the records of the employer's threat-assessment investigation of me.
I feel that the records will help me to prove that the investigation was discriminatory based on the threat-assessment team's perception of me as having a mental-health disability, that the interrogation was a mental-health examination barred by the Americans With Disabilities Act, that I was harassed on a disability basis in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and that adverse employment action was threatened against me for lawful off-duty conduct that occurred outside of the workplace in violation of the California Labor Code Sections 96(k) and 98.6. I believe that the records will support me in making corresponding regulatory complaints against the employer.
California Labor Code Section 1198.5 has exemptions for certain kinds of employers and employment situations, but many people are covered by it. I would argue that a threat investigation of an employee is a "grievance concerning the employee" under the language of the statute. An "investigation of a possible criminal offense" is exempted by the statute, but in my case, I hadn't even done anything criminal.
I wanted to share this in case it might help anyone else out there experiencing a similar situation. Although I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, anyone in California who is subjected to a threat investigation by their employer like I was, and who gets denied due process such as being given essential details of the investigation (what you're accused of, etc.), should look into utilizing California Labor Code Section 1198.5. If your employer and your employment situation are covered, then write a letter to the employer requesting all of the covered records including those of the threat investigation. Be aware that you may have to pay for copying and postal costs.
I bet that my former employer didn't see this coming -- that is, me realizing what my rights are and forcing them to pony up all of the investigation records that they thought they could cover up from me! I am interested to see whether and how they comply...
Before I left my now-former employer, the employer subjected me to a threat investigation with their threat-assessment team. It happened because an external person, who had "an axe to grind" against me, vindictively contacted my employer and made aspersions about me to get me in trouble at work. My employer's threat-management team interrogated me about my dealings with that external person which were non-work-related, as well as about all sorts of other matters. The whole time, the threat-assessment team refused to divulge to me what wrongdoing I was even accused of, and why they were interrogating me. They required me to comply in answering all of their questions, but they wouldn't answer mine. They thought that they could cover up all of the details of the investigation from me.
Well, now, things are changing. I found out about a California law, California Labor Code Section 1198.5. This statute says: "Every current and former employee, or his or her representative, has the right to inspect and receive a copy of the personnel records that the employer maintains relating to the employee's performance or to any grievance concerning the employee." How utterly serendipitous and applicable to my situation! Thus, I have written a letter to my now-former employer, requesting a copy of all of their records about me that are covered by that statute. As part of the request, I have demanded all of the records of the employer's threat-assessment investigation of me.
I feel that the records will help me to prove that the investigation was discriminatory based on the threat-assessment team's perception of me as having a mental-health disability, that the interrogation was a mental-health examination barred by the Americans With Disabilities Act, that I was harassed on a disability basis in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and that adverse employment action was threatened against me for lawful off-duty conduct that occurred outside of the workplace in violation of the California Labor Code Sections 96(k) and 98.6. I believe that the records will support me in making corresponding regulatory complaints against the employer.
California Labor Code Section 1198.5 has exemptions for certain kinds of employers and employment situations, but many people are covered by it. I would argue that a threat investigation of an employee is a "grievance concerning the employee" under the language of the statute. An "investigation of a possible criminal offense" is exempted by the statute, but in my case, I hadn't even done anything criminal.
I wanted to share this in case it might help anyone else out there experiencing a similar situation. Although I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, anyone in California who is subjected to a threat investigation by their employer like I was, and who gets denied due process such as being given essential details of the investigation (what you're accused of, etc.), should look into utilizing California Labor Code Section 1198.5. If your employer and your employment situation are covered, then write a letter to the employer requesting all of the covered records including those of the threat investigation. Be aware that you may have to pay for copying and postal costs.
I bet that my former employer didn't see this coming -- that is, me realizing what my rights are and forcing them to pony up all of the investigation records that they thought they could cover up from me! I am interested to see whether and how they comply...
