Case Result: Published Victory — Kern County Whistleblower Not Required to Exhaust Civil Service Appeal (Romero v. County of Kern (2025) 116 Cal.App.5th 1189)
December 2025
Can a county force a fired whistleblower into an internal appeal process that isn't required to decide whether retaliation happened?
No. A published California Court of Appeal decision says that where the agency's rules contain no mechanism requiring the commission to accept, evaluate, and resolve a retaliation claim, there is no administrative remedy to exhaust.
Our client was a Kern County fire captain with more than twenty years of service. He reported that fire extinguishers on County fire engines were being improperly serviced — a safety hazard and, he believed, a violation of law. He was banned from fire prevention work and told the ban was for "unauthorized overtime." After his internal complaints went nowhere, he was investigated, placed on administrative leave, and terminated in October 2022.
He sued under Labor Code sections 1102.5, 6310, and 98.6. The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings, holding his claims were barred because he had not appealed his termination to the County's Civil Service Commission.
The Fifth Appellate District reversed in a published opinion. The Court examined the County's ordinance and civil service rules and found that while they provide detailed procedures for challenging a disciplinary order, nothing requires the commission to evaluate or resolve a claim that the discipline was retaliation for whistleblowing — the commission need only decide whether the charged misconduct occurred. The County's own concession that the commission "need not address" retaliation confirmed the point.
Why this matters: Public employers routinely raise failure to exhaust to dispose of whistleblower retaliation claims at the pleading stage. Romero provides statewide published authority that the test is whether the agency's process is requiredto resolve a retaliation claim, not whether the employee could have argued it there.
Andrew S. Pletcher of Pletcher Law, APC handled the appeal for the employee, in collaboration with D. Aaron Brock and Jesse S. Stratos of Brock & Gonzales. Mr. Pletcher wrote the appellant's briefs and argued the case before the Court of Appeal.
Romero v. County of Kern (2025) F088325, certified for publication.
Citation: 116 Cal.App.5th 1189
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Were you fired after reporting something unsafe or unlawful?
Public employers often argue you missed an internal appeal deadline. That defense doesn't always hold. If you're a public employee facing retaliation, it's worth understanding what actually applies to your claim.
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ROMERO — FAQs
Do California public employees have to exhaust internal civil service remedies before suing for whistleblower retaliation?
Not always. Under Romero v. County of Kern (2025), exhaustion is not required where the agency's rules contain no mechanism requiring the commission to accept, evaluate, and resolve a retaliation claim. The test is whether the process is required to decide the retaliation question — not whether the employee could have raised it there.
What is the difference between a civil service appeal and a whistleblower retaliation claim?
A civil service appeal asks whether the charged misconduct occurred and whether the discipline should stand. A whistleblower retaliation claim asks a different question: whether the real reason for the discipline was that the employee reported something unlawful. Many agencies' disciplinary rules decide only the first question.
What laws protect California whistleblowers at work?
Labor Code section 1102.5 protects employees who report suspected violations of law. Section 6310 protects employees who report unsafe working conditions. Section 98.6 protects employees who complain about wages or exercise other Labor Code rights.
How long do I have to file a whistleblower retaliation claim against a public entity in California?
Claims against public entities generally require presenting a written claim under the Government Claims Act before filing suit, and the deadlines are short. Because the timeline depends on your specific facts, it's worth confirming your deadline early rather than assuming.
I withdrew my civil service appeal. Does that end my case?
Not necessarily. In Romero, the employee withdrew his commission complaint and still proceeded with his lawsuit, because the commission was never required to resolve his retaliation claim in the first place.
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Coverage
Practice area(s): Employment / Labor
Court: Fifth District Court of Appeal
