Workers' Comp Retaliation Lawyer in Mojave, California

How California Law Protects Mojave Workers From Retaliation

Labor Code §132a is California's primary weapon against employer retaliation in the workers' compensation context. It states plainly: "It is the declared policy of this state that there should not be discrimination against workers who are injured in the course and scope of their employment." Any employer who violates this policy — including Mojave's aerospace contractors, BNSF Railway, and every other employer in Kern County — faces mandatory penalties.

Seven Types of Adverse Action That Constitute Retaliation

Retaliation is any adverse employment action taken because you filed — or indicated an intent to file — a workers' compensation claim. The action does not need to be outright termination. We have successfully prosecuted all of the following for Mojave workers:

• Termination — Fired shortly after filing a claim or returning from injury leave. Aerospace contractors sometimes frame it as "contract end" or "project completion" to disguise the retaliation.
• Badge or access revocation — At the Air & Space Port, losing your facility badge effectively terminates your ability to work, even without formal firing. Employers who revoke access after a workers' comp filing face LC §132a liability.
• Demotion or reassignment — Moved off a high-clearance aerospace project to menial tasks, or transferred from a skilled railroad position to a lower-paying role.
• Hours reduction — Full-time schedule cut to part-time after filing, particularly common with BNSF Railway's scheduling practices at the Mojave yard.
• Disciplinary charges — BNSF Railway is known for issuing sudden disciplinary charges against injured workers — attendance violations, rule infractions, or performance deficiencies that were never documented before the injury claim.
• Hostile work environment — Coworker harassment encouraged or tolerated by management, isolation from the team, or assignment to undesirable tasks designed to push you out.
• Constructive discharge — Conditions made so intolerable that you are forced to resign. In Mojave's small employment market, employers sometimes calculate that making life miserable will force a quit without the legal exposure of a formal termination.

Proving Retaliation: The Three Elements

To prevail on an LC §132a claim at the Bakersfield WCAB, we must establish three elements:

• Protected activity — You filed a workers' comp claim, reported a work injury, or indicated intent to do so. Even telling your Air & Space Port supervisor that you plan to file counts.
• Adverse action — Your employer took a negative employment action against you — any of the seven actions described above.
• Causal connection — The adverse action was motivated by your workers' comp activity. Timing is often the strongest evidence. When a BNSF disciplinary charge appears two weeks after filing, or an aerospace contractor's badge revocation coincides with a claim submission, the inference of retaliation is powerful.

Remedies and Penalties for Retaliation

If we establish retaliation, the Bakersfield WCAB can order:

• Reinstatement to your former position with the same pay, benefits, seniority, and facility access
• Back wages and benefits for the entire period of wrongful termination or adverse action
• $10,000+ penalty increase added to your workers' compensation award
• Reasonable attorney fees and costs

Additionally, you may file a separate civil wrongful termination lawsuit in Kern County Superior Court. Civil claims allow recovery of emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and full lost earnings — remedies not available through the WCAB alone. For Mojave workers in a tight labor market where job loss can mean relocating away from their community, these civil damages reflect the true scope of harm. We evaluate every Mojave retaliation case for both LC §132a and civil remedies.

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