California State University Whistleblowers Have One Less Hurdle to Jump
In Runyon, the unanimous California Supreme Court ruled that whistleblowers employed with California State University do not have to exhaust their judicial remedies (i.e., petition for a writ of mandate) to bring a suit for damages, so long as they first exhaust their administrative remedies. While this ruling is consistent with previous whistleblower rulings by the high court, it expressly overturns the Court of Appeal opinion in Ohton insofar as it is inconsistent. While not mentioned, this instruction necessarily applies equally to Ohton II , which recently reaffirmed the portion of the original opinion addressed in Runyon. For more Runyon case history, see the Employment-Other update page.
