Opinion ID: 2634908
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Administrative and Judicial Proceedings

Text: On July 23, 2002, Arbuckle filed a complaint with the State Personnel Board, alleging whistleblower retaliation in violation of the Act. The board's executive officer conducted an investigation in accordance with board regulations, during which each side submitted detailed documentary evidence and written argument. Arbuckle, for example, submitted approximately 360 pages of documents in support of her complaint. On January 24, 2003, the executive officer of the State Personnel Board issued a 16-page Notice of Findings, recommending dismissal of Arbuckle's complaint. The executive officer concluded that some of the alleged whistleblower activity did not constitute [p]rotected disclosure[s] of [i]mproper governmental activit[ies] as those terms are used in the Act. (§ 8547.2, subds. (b), (d).) The executive officer further determined that some of the alleged acts of retaliation were not sufficiently adverse to constitute violations of the Act. In regard to the few remaining allegations, the executive officer found an insufficient showing of a nexus between Arbuckle's protected disclosure and the adverse employment actions the SBCE had taken against Arbuckle. The executive officer found persuasive the SBCE's evidence that the actions it had taken against Arbuckle were for reasons unrelated to Arbuckle's protected disclosures. Under the regulations of the State Personnel Board that were then in effect (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, §§ 56-56.8, as adopted Register 2002, No. 34 (Aug. 23, 2002) p. 1712 [2] ; hereafter 2002 Regulations), a complaining employee who received adverse findings from the board's executive officer could file a petition for a hearing before the board. (2002 Regs., § 56.3, subd. (a).) The board could deny such a petition and adopt the findings of its executive officer ( id., § 56.3, subd. (f)), or it could grant the petition and assign the matter to an administrative law judge (ALJ) for a hearing ( id., § 56.3, subd. (g)). Here, the executive officer's findings expressly informed Arbuckle of her right to petition the board for this hearing before an ALJ: Either party has the right to file a petition for hearing with the five-member State Personnel Board . . . . Any petition for hearing must be filed no later than 30 days following service of this Notice of Findings. If no party files a petition for hearing within 30 days . . ., this recommendation shall become the final decision of the State Personnel Board. Arbuckle did not exercise this right. Instead, on February 21, 2003, she filed a damages action in superior court against the SBCE and its executive director, Jeanine Smith, claiming whistleblower retaliation in violation of Government Code section 8547.8. Arbuckle included a cause of action under Labor Code section 1102.5, which prohibits retaliation against an employee who reports a violation of state or federal law, and she also included a tort cause of action for violation of public policy (see Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (1980) 27 Cal.3d 167 [164 Cal.Rptr. 839, 610 P.2d 1330]). The trial court sustained defendants' demurrer to the Tameny claim, and that issue is not before us. Defendants moved for summary judgment with regard to the remaining causes of action, arguing that Arbuckle had failed to exhaust her administrative and judicial remedies. The trial court denied the motion, but the Court of Appeal issued an alternative writ and stayed the proceedings in the trial court. The Court of Appeal held that Arbuckle had failed to exhaust both administrative and judicial remedies. The court stated that exhaustion of administrative and judicial remedies in this case required more than merely filing a complaint with the State Personnel Board and receiving the findings of its executive officer; Arbuckle also needed to complete the administrative process by petitioning the board for a hearing before an ALJ, and if this hearing request was denied, she then needed to seek a writ of mandate from the courts in an effort to have the board's findings set aside. The Court of Appeal concluded that Arbuckle, by failing to take these steps, had in effect conceded her right to judicial review of the State Personnel Board findings, and the findings therefore had the same legal significance as a final judgment of a reviewing court. On that basis, the Court of Appeal held that the executive officer's specific finding that no retaliation occurred was binding in Arbuckle's later civil action, and the trial court therefore should have granted defendants' motion for summary judgment as to all causes of action. The Court of Appeal granted a writ of mandate, ordering the trial court to grant summary judgment in favor of defendants. We granted Arbuckle's petition for review.