Opinion ID: 1198956
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Balancing public policy and legislative province

Text: Defendant contends that including regulations as a potential public policy source does not strike the proper balance between employer and employee that our cases require. (See, e.g., Stevenson, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 889, 66 Cal.Rptr.2d 888, 941 P.2d 1157.) Defendant claims that it is improper to assume employers are aware of the fine details of administrative regulations. (See, e.g., Sequoia Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 1472, 1480, 16 Cal.Rptr.2d 888 [refusing to allow wrongful discharge action where there was no expression of the policy anywhere in the codes under which employer operated its business].) As plaintiff correctly observes, however, no reasonable parts manufacturer could read the applicable federal regulations and believe it was free to supply defective parts to airline companies. Moreover, by allowing employees to rely on regulations that are supported by the important policies of the Federal Aviation Act, we satisfy our goal to balance the competing interests by (1) providing the employer with proper warning it is violating fundamental public policies, (2) ensuring employees are protected against employer actions that contravene fundamental policy, and (3) guaranteeing to the public that employers' interests will not be protected at the expense of society's most important policies. (See Gantt, supra, 1 Cal.4th at pp. 1090-1091, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 874, 824 P.2d 680; Foley, supra, 47 Cal.3d at pp. 669-671, 254 Cal. Rptr. 211, 765 P.2d 373.)