Chapter 2. Employer and Employee

Article 1. The Contract of Employment

2750. The contract of employment is a contract by which one, who is called the employer, engages another, who is called the employee, to do something for the benefit of the employer or a third person.

2750.5. There is a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof that a worker performing services for which a license is required pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or who is performing such services for a person who is required to obtain such a license is an employee rather than an independent contractor. Proof of independent contractor status includes satisfactory proof of these factors:

(a) That the individual has the right to control and discretion as to the manner of performance of the contract for services in that the result of the work and not the means by which it is accomplished is the primary factor bargained for.

(b) That the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established business.

(c) That the individual's independent contractor status is bona fide and not a subterfuge to avoid employee status. A bona fide independent contractor status is further evidenced by the presence of cumulative factors such as substantial investment other than personal services in the business, holding out to be in business for oneself, bargaining for a contract to complete a specific project for compensation by project rather than by time, control over the time and place the work is performed, supplying the tools or instrumentalities used in the work other than tools and instrumentalities normally and customarily provided by employees, hiring employees, performing work that is not ordinarily in the course of the principal's work, performing work that requires a particular skill, holding a license pursuant to the Business and Professions Code, the intent by the parties that the work relationship is of an independent contractor status, or that the relationship is not severable or terminable at will by the principal but gives rise to an action for breach of contract.

In addition to the factors contained in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), any person performing any function or activity for which a license is required pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code shall hold a valid contractors' license as a condition of having independent contractor status.

For purposes of workers' compensation law, this presumption is a supplement to the existing statutory definitions of employee and independent contractor, and is not intended to lessen the coverage of employees under Division 4 and Division 5.

2750.6. There is a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof that a physician and surgeon, licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the Business and Professions Code, who enters into a contract for the performance of health services on behalf of a licensed primary care clinic, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code, is an independent contractor rather than an employee. Nothing in this section shall authorize the employment of a physician and surgeon to provide professional services when the employment would violate any other provision of law.

2751. Whenever any employer who has no permanent and fixed place of business in this State enters into a contract of employment with an employee for services to be rendered within this State and the contemplated method of payment of the employee involves commissions, the contract shall be in writing and shall set forth the method by which the commissions shall be computed and paid.

The employer shall give a signed copy of each such contract to every employee who is a party thereto and shall obtain a signed receipt for the contract from each employee.

As used in this section, "commissions" does not include short term productivity bonuses such as are paid to retail clerks; and it does not include bonus and profit-sharing plans, unless there has been an offer by the employer to pay a fixed percentage of sales or profits as compensation for work to be performed.

2752. Any employer who does not employ an employee pursuant to a written contract as required by Section 2751 shall be liable to the employee in a civil action for triple damages.

Article 2. Obligations of Employer

2800. An employer shall in all cases indemnify his employee for losses caused by the employer's want of ordinary care.

2800.1. An employer shall in all cases take reasonable and necessary precautions to safeguard musical instruments and equipment, belonging to an employed musician, located on premises under the employer's control. In the event such equipment is damaged or stolen as a result of the employer's failure or refusal to take such reasonable and necessary precautions, the employer shall be liable to the owner for repair or replacement thereof if the employed musician has taken reasonable and necessary precautions to safeguard the musical instruments and equipment.

For the purposes of this section: (a) "employer" includes a purchaser of services and the owner of premises upon which an employed musician is working; and (b) "employee" is any employed musician working on premises which are under an employer's control.

2800.2. (a) Any employer, employee association, or other entity otherwise providing hospital, surgical, or major medical benefits to its employees or members is solely responsible for notification of its employees or members of the conversion coverage made available pursuant to Part 6.1 (commencing with Section 12670) of Division 2 of the Insurance Code or Section 1373.6 of the Health and Safety Code.

(b) Any employer, employee association, or other entity, whether private or public, that provides hospital, medical, or surgical expense coverage that a former employee may continue under Section 4980B of Title 26 of the United States Code, Section 1161 et seq. of Title 29 of the United States Code, or Section 300bb of Title 42 of the United States Code, as added by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-272), and as may be later amended (hereafter "COBRA"), shall, in conjunction with the notification required by COBRA that COBRA continuation coverage will cease and conversion coverage is available, and as a part of the notification required by subdivision (a), also notify the former employee, spouse, or former spouse of the availability of the continuation coverage under Section 1373.621 of the Health and Safety Code, and Sections 10116.5 and 11512.03 of the Insurance Code.

(c) On or after July 1, 2006, notification provided to employees, members, former employees, spouses, or former spouses under subdivisions (a) and (b) shall also include the following notification:

"Please examine your options carefully before declining this coverage. You should be aware that companies selling individual health insurance typically require a review of your medical history that could result in a higher premium or you could be denied coverage entirely."

2800.3. Any employer, other than a self-insurer, employee association or other entity otherwise providing hospital, surgical or major medical benefits to its employees or members shall also make available conversion coverage which complies with the provisions of Part 6.1 (commencing with Section 12670) of Division 2 of the Insurance Code and Section 1373.6 of the Health and Safety Code.

2801. In any action to recover damages for a personal injury sustained within this State by an employee while engaged in the line of his duty or the course of his employment as such, or for death resulting from personal injury so sustained, in which recovery is sought upon the ground of want of ordinary or reasonable care of the employer, or of any officer, agent or servant of the employer, the fact that such employee has been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery therein where his contributory negligence was slight and that of the employer was gross, in comparison, but the damages may be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to such employee.

It shall be conclusively presumed that such employee was not guilty of contributory negligence in any case where the violation of any law enacted for the safety of employees contributed to such employee's injury.

It shall not be a defense that:

(a) The employee either expressly or impliedly assumed the risk of the hazard complained of.

(b) The injury or death was caused in whole or in part by the want of ordinary or reasonable care of a fellow servant.

No contract, or regulation, shall exempt the employer from any provisions of this section.

2802. (a) An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer, even though unlawful, unless the employee, at the time of obeying the directions, believed them to be unlawful.

(b) All awards made by a court or by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement for reimbursement of necessary expenditures under this section shall carry interest at the same rate as judgments in civil actions. Interest shall accrue from the date on which the employee incurred the necessary expenditure or loss.

(c) For purposes of this section, the term "necessary expenditures or losses" shall include all reasonable costs, including, but not limited to, attorney's fees incurred by the employee enforcing the rights granted by this section.

2803. When death, whether instantaneously or otherwise, results from an injury to an employee caused by the want of ordinary or reasonable care of an employer or of any officer, agent, a servant of the employer, the personal representative of such employee shall have a right of action therefor against such employer, and may recover damages in respect thereof, for and on behalf of the surviving spouse, children, dependent parents, and dependent brothers and sisters, in order of precedence as stated, but no more than one action shall be brought for such recovery.

2803.4. (a) Any employer providing health benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1001, et seq.) shall not provide an exception for other coverage where the other coverage is entitlement to Medi-Cal benefits under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) or Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 14200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or medicaid benefits under Subchapter 19 (commencing with Section 1396) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code. Any employer providing health benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 shall not provide an exception for the Medi-Cal or medicaid benefits.

(b) Any employer providing health benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 shall not provide that the benefits payable are subject to reduction if the individual insured has entitlement to Medi-Cal or medicaid benefits.

(c) Any employer providing health benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 shall not provide an exception for enrollment for benefits because of an applicant's entitlement to Medi-Cal benefits under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) or Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 14200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or medicaid benefits under Subchapter 19 (commencing with Section 1396) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(d) The State Department of Health Services shall consider health benefits available under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 in determining legal liability of any third party for medical expenses incurred by a Medi-Cal or medicaid recipient under Section 14124.90 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and Subchapter 19 (commencing with Section 1396) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code.

2803.5. Any employer who offers health care coverage, including employers and insurers, shall comply with the standards set forth in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3750) of Part 1 of Division 9 of the Family Code and Section 14124.94 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

2804. Any contract or agreement, express or implied, made by any employee to waive the benefits of this article or any part thereof, is null and void, and this article shall not deprive any employee or his personal representative of any right or remedy to which he is entitled under the laws of this State.

2806. (a) No employer, whether private or public, shall discontinue coverage for medical, surgical, or hospital benefits for employees unless the employer has notified and advised all covered employees in writing of any discontinuation of coverage, inclusive of nonrenewal and cancellation, but not inclusive of employment termination or cases in which substitute coverage has been provided, at least 15 days in advance of such discontinuation.

(b) If coverage is provided by a third party, failure of the employer to give the necessary notice shall not require the third party to continue the coverage beyond the date it would otherwise terminate.

(c) This section shall not apply to any employee welfare benefit plan that is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

2807. (a) All employers, whether private or public, shall provide notification to former employees, along with the notification required by federal law pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-272), of the availability of continued coverage for medical, surgical, or hospital benefits, a standardized written description of the Health Insurance Premium Program established by the State Department of Health Services pursuant to Section 120835 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 14124.91 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The employer shall utilize the standardized written description prepared by the State Department of Health Services pursuant to subdivision (b).

(b) The State Department of Health Services shall prepare and make available, on request, a standardized written description of the Health Insurance Premium Program, at cost.

2808. (a) It is the responsibility of all employers, whether public or private, to provide to all eligible employees an outline of coverage or similar explanation of all benefits provided under employer-sponsored health coverage, including, but not limited to, provider information for health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations.

(b) All employers, whether public or private, shall provide to employees, upon termination, notification of all continuation, disability extension, and conversion coverage options under any employer-sponsored coverage for which the employee may remain eligible after employment with that employer terminates.

2809. (a) Any employer, whether private or public, that offers its employees an employer-managed deferred compensation plan shall provide to each employee, prior to the employee's enrollment in the plan, written notice of the reasonably foreseeable financial risks accompanying participation in the plan, historical information to date as to the performance of the investments or funds available under the plan, and an annual balance sheet, annual audit, or similar document that describes the employer's financial condition as of a date no earlier than the immediately preceding year.

(b) Within 30 days after the end of each quarter of the calendar year, the employer, who directly manages the investments of a deferred compensation plan, shall provide, to each employee enrolled in a deferred compensation plan offered by the employer, a written report summarizing the current financial condition of the employer, summarizing the financial performance during the preceding quarter of each investment or fund available under the plan, and describing the actual performance of the employee's funds that are invested in each investment or fund in the plan.

(c) The obligations described in subdivisions (a) and (b) may be performed by a plan manager designated by the employer, who may contract with an investment manager for that purpose.

(d) If an employee is enrolled in a deferred compensation plan that is self-directed through a financial institution, the requirements set forth in this section shall be deemed to have been met.

2810. (a) A person or entity may not enter into a contract or agreement for labor or services with a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor, where the person or entity knows or should know that the contract or agreement does not include funds sufficient to allow the contractor to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws or regulations governing the labor or services to be provided.

(b) There is a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof that there has been no violation of subdivision (a) where the contract or agreement with a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor meets all of the requirements in subdivision (d).

(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a person or entity who executes a collective bargaining agreement covering the workers employed under the contract or agreement, or to a person who enters into a contract or agreement for labor or services to be performed on his or her home residences, provided that a family member resides in the residence or residences for which the labor or services are to be performed for at least a part of the year.

(d) To meet the requirements of subdivision (b), a contract or agreement with a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor for labor or services must be in writing, in a single document, and contain all of the following provisions, in addition to any other provisions that may be required by regulations adopted by the Labor Commissioner from time to time:

(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person or entity and the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor through whom the labor or services are to be provided.

(2) A description of the labor or services to be provided and a statement of when those services are to be commenced and completed.

(3) The employer identification number for state tax purposes of the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor.

(4) The workers' compensation insurance policy number and the name, address, and telephone number of the insurance carrier of the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor.

(5) The vehicle identification number of any vehicle that is owned by the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor and used for transportation in connection with any service provided pursuant to the contract or agreement, the number of the vehicle liability insurance policy that covers the vehicle, and the name, address, and telephone number of the insurance carrier.

(6) The address of any real property to be used to house workers in connection with the contract or agreement.

(7) The total number of workers to be employed under the contract or agreement, the total amount of all wages to be paid, and the date or dates when those wages are to be paid.

(8) The amount of the commission or other payment made to the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor for services under the contract or agreement.

(9) The total number of persons who will be utilized under the contract or agreement as independent contractors, along with a list of the current local, state, and federal contractor license identification numbers that the independent contractors are required to have under local, state, or federal laws or regulations.

(10) The signatures of all parties, and the date the contract or agreement was signed.

(e) (1) To qualify for the rebuttable presumption set forth in subdivision (b), a material change to the terms and conditions of a contract or agreement between a person or entity and a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor must be in writing, in a single document, and contain all of the provisions listed in subdivision (d) that are affected by the change.

(2) If a provision required to be contained in a contract or agreement pursuant to paragraph (7) or (9) of subdivision (d) is unknown at the time the contract or agreement is executed, the best estimate available at that time is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (d). If an estimate is used in place of actual figures in accordance with this paragraph, the parties to the contract or agreement have a continuing duty to ascertain the information required pursuant to paragraph (7) or (9) of subdivision (d) and to reduce that information to writing in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) once that information becomes known.

(f) A person or entity who enters into a contract or agreement referred to in subdivisions (d) or (e) shall keep a copy of the written contract or agreement for a period of not less than four years following the termination of the contract or agreement.

(g) (1) An employee aggrieved by a violation of subdivision (a) may file an action for damages to recover the greater of all of his or her actual damages or two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per employee per violation for an initial violation and one thousand dollars ($1,000) per employee for each subsequent violation, and, upon prevailing in an action brought pursuant to this section, may recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees. An action under this section may not be maintained unless it is pleaded and proved that an employee was injured as a result of a violation of a labor law or regulation in connection with the performance of the contract or agreement.

(2) An employee aggrieved by a violation of subdivision (a) may also bring an action for injunctive relief and, upon prevailing, may recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

(h) The phrase "construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor" includes any person, as defined in this code, whether or not licensed, who is acting in the capacity of a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, or security guard contractor.

(i) (1) The term "knows" includes the knowledge, arising from familiarity with the normal facts and circumstances of the business activity engaged in, that the contract or agreement does not include funds sufficient to allow the contractor to comply with applicable laws.

(2) The phrase "should know" includes the knowledge of any additional facts or information that would make a reasonably prudent person undertake to inquire whether, taken together, the contract or agreement contains sufficient funds to allow the contractor to comply with applicable laws.

(3) A failure by a person or entity to request or obtain any information from the contractor that is required by any applicable statute or by the contract or agreement between them, constitutes knowledge of that information for purposes of this section.

Article 3. Obligations of Employee

2850. One who, without consideration, undertakes to do a service for another, is not bound to perform the same but if he actually enters upon its performance, he shall use at least slight care and diligence therein.

2851. One who, by his own special request, induces another to intrust him with the performance of a service, shall perform the same fully. In other cases, one who undertakes a gratuitous service may relinquish it at any time.

2852. A gratuitous employee, who accepts a written power of attorney, shall act under it so long as it remains in force, or until he gives notice to his employer that he will not do so.

2853. One who is employed at his own request to do that which is more for his own advantage than for that of his employer, shall use great care and diligence therein to protect the interest of the employer.

2854. One who, for a good consideration, agrees to serve another, shall perform the service, and shall use ordinary care and diligence therein, so long as he is thus employed.

2855. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), a contract to render personal service, other than a contract of apprenticeship as provided in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 3070), may not be enforced against the employee beyond seven years from the commencement of service under it. Any contract, otherwise valid, to perform or render service of a special, unique, unusual, extraordinary, or intellectual character, which gives it peculiar value and the loss of which cannot be reasonably or adequately compensated in damages in an action at law, may nevertheless be enforced against the person contracting to render the service, for a term not to exceed seven years from the commencement of service under it. If the employee voluntarily continues to serve under it beyond that time, the contract may be referred to as affording a presumptive measure of the compensation.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a):

(1) Any employee who is a party to a contract to render personal service in the production of phonorecords in which sounds are first fixed, as defined in Section 101 of Title 17 of the United States Code, may not invoke the provisions of subdivision (a) without first giving written notice to the employer in accordance with Section 1020 of the Code of Civil Procedure, specifying that the employee from and after a future date certain specified in the notice will no longer render service under the contract by reason of subdivision (a).

(2) Any party to a contract described in paragraph (1) shall have the right to recover damages for a breach of the contract occurring during its term in an action commenced during or after its term, but within the applicable period prescribed by law.

(3) If a party to a contract described in paragraph (1) is, or could contractually be, required to render personal service in the production of a specified quantity of the phonorecords and fails to render all of the required service prior to the date specified in the notice provided in paragraph (1), the party damaged by the failure shall have the right to recover damages for each phonorecord as to which that party has failed to render service in an action that, notwithstanding paragraph (2), shall be commenced within 45 days after the date specified in the notice.

2856. An employee shall substantially comply with all the directions of his employer concerning the service on which he is engaged, except where such obedience is impossible or unlawful, or would impose new and unreasonable burdens upon the employee.

2857. An employee shall perform his service in conformity to the usage of the place of performance, unless otherwise directed by his employer, or unless it is impracticable or manifestly injurious to his employer to do so.

2858. An employee is bound to exercise a reasonable degree of skill, unless his employer has notice, before employing him, of his want of skill.

2859. An employee is always bound to use such skill as he possesses, so far as the same is required, for the service specified.

2860. Everything which an employee acquires by virtue of his employment, except the compensation which is due to him from his employer, belongs to the employer, whether acquired lawfully or unlawfully, or during or after the expiration of the term of his employment.

2861. An employee shall, on demand, render to his employer just accounts of all his transactions in the course of his service, as often as is reasonable, and shall, without demand, give prompt notice to his employer of everything which he receives for the account of the employer.

2862. An employee who receives anything on account of his employer, in any capacity other than that of a mere servant, is not bound to deliver it to the employer until demanded, and is not at liberty to send it to the employer from a distance, without demand, in any mode involving greater risk than its retention by the employee himself.

2863. An employee who has any business to transact on his own account, similar to that intrusted to him by his employer, shall always give the preference to the business of the employer.

2864. An employee who is expressly authorized to employ a substitute is liable to his principal only for want of ordinary care in his selection. The substitute is directly responsible to the principal.

2865. An employee who is guilty of a culpable degree of negligence is liable to his employer for the damage thereby caused to the employer. The employer is liable to the employee if the service is not gratuitous, for the value of the services only as are properly rendered.

2866. Where service is to be rendered by two or more persons jointly, and one of them dies, the survivor shall act alone, if the service to be rendered is such as he can rightly perform without the aid of the deceased person, but not otherwise.

Article 3.5. Inventions Made by an Employee

2870. (a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer's equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information except for those inventions that either:

(1) Relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the invention to the employer's business, or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the employer; or

(2) Result from any work performed by the employee for the employer.

(b) To the extent a provision in an employment agreement purports to require an employee to assign an invention otherwise excluded from being required to be assigned under subdivision (a), the provision is against the public policy of this state and is unenforceable.

2871. No employer shall require a provision made void and unenforceable by Section 2870 as a condition of employment or continued employment. Nothing in this article shall be construed to forbid or restrict the right of an employer to provide in contracts of employment for disclosure, provided that any such disclosures be received in confidence, of all of the employee's inventions made solely or jointly with others during the term of his or her employment, a review process by the employer to determine such issues as may arise, and for full title to certain patents and inventions to be in the United States, as required by contracts between the employer and the United States or any of its agencies.

2872. If an employment agreement entered into after January 1, 1980, contains a provision requiring the employee to assign or offer to assign any of his or her rights in any invention to his or her employer, the employer must also, at the time the agreement is made, provide a written notification to the employee that the agreement does not apply to an invention which qualifies fully under the provisions of Section 2870. In any suit or action arising thereunder, the burden of proof shall be on the employee claiming the benefits of its provisions.

Article 4. Termination of Employment

2920. Every employment is terminated by any of the following:

(a) Expiration of its appointed term.

(b) Extinction of its subject.

(c) Death of the employee.

(d) The employee's legal incapacity to act as such.

2921. Every employment in which the power of the employee is not coupled with an interest in its subject is terminated by notice to the employee of either of the following:

(a) The death of the employer.

(b) The legal incapacity of the employer to contract.

2922. An employment, having no specified term, may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other. Employment for a specified term means an employment for a period greater than one month.

2923. An employee, unless the term of his service has expired or unless he has a right to discontinue it at any time without notice, shall continue his service after notice of the death or incapacity of his employer, so far as is necessary to protect from serious injury the interests of the employer's successor in interest, until a reasonable time after notice of the facts has been communicated to such successor. The successor shall compensate the employee for such service according to the terms of the contract of employment.

2924. An employment for a specified term may be terminated at any time by the employer in case of any willful breach of duty by the employee in the course of his employment, or in case of his habitual neglect of his duty or continued incapacity to perform it.

2925. An employment for a specified term may be terminated by the employee at any time in case of any wilful or permanent breach of the obligations of his employer to him as an employee.

2926. An employee who is not employed for a specified term and who is dismissed by his employer is entitled to compensation for services rendered up to the time of such dismissal.

2927. An employee who is not employed for a specified term and who quits the service of his employer is entitled to compensation for services rendered up to the time of such quitting.

2928. No deduction from the wages of an employee on account of his coming late to work shall be made in excess of the proportionate wage which would have been earned during the time actually lost, but for a loss of time less than thirty minutes, a half hour's wage may be deducted.

2929. (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Garnishment" means any judicial procedure through which the wages of an employee are required to be withheld for the payment of any debt.

(2) "Wages" has the same meaning as that term has under Section 200.

(b) No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that the garnishment of his wages has been threatened. No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that his wages have been subjected to garnishment for the payment of one judgment. A provision of a contract of employment that provides an employee with less protection than is provided by this subdivision is against public policy and void.

(c) Unless the employee has greater rights under the contract of employment, the wages of an employee who is discharged in violation of this section shall continue until reinstatement notwithstanding such discharge, but such wages shall not continue for more than 30 days and shall not exceed the amount of wages earned during the 30 calendar days immediately preceding the date of the levy of execution upon the employee's wages which resulted in his discharge. The employee shall give notice to his employer of his intention to make a wage claim under this subdivision within 30 days after being discharged; and, if he desires to have the Labor Commissioner take an assignment of his wage claim, the employee shall file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner within 60 days after being discharged.

The Labor Commissioner may, in his discretion, take assignment of wage claims under this subdivision as provided for in Section 96. A discharged employee shall not be permitted to recover wages under this subdivision if a criminal prosecution based on the same discharge has been commenced for violation of Section 304 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1674).

(d) Nothing in this section affects any other rights the employee may have against his employer.

(e) This section is intended to aid in the enforcement of the prohibition against discharge for garnishment of earnings provided in the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. Secs.

1671-1677) and shall be interpreted and applied in a manner which is consistent with the corresponding provisions of such act.

Article 5. Investigations of Employees

2930. (a) Any employer who disciplines or discharges an employee on the basis of a shopping investigator's report of the employee's conduct, performance, or honesty performed by a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code shall provide the employee with a copy of the investigation report prior to discharging or disciplining the employee. Where an interview occurs which might result in the termination of an employee for dishonesty, the employee shall be handed a copy of the latest investigation report on which the interview was based during the course of the interview prior to its conclusion. This section shall not be applicable if the licensee conducting the investigation is employed exclusively and regularly by one employer in connection with the affairs of only that employer and where there exists an employer-employee relationship and the entire investigation is conducted solely for such employer by such licensee.

(b) For purposes of this section, a "shopping investigator" is a person who: shops in commercial, retail, and service establishments to test integrity of sales, warehouse, stockroom, and service personnel, and evaluates sales techniques and services rendered customers; reviews an establishment's policies and standards to ascertain employee performance requirements; buys merchandise, orders food, or utilizes services to evaluate sales technique and courtesy of employees, carries merchandise to check stand or sales counter and observes employees during sales transaction to detect irregularities in listing or calling prices, itemizing merchandise, or handling cash; or delivers purchases to an agency conducting shopping investigation service; and, following any one or more of the above activities, writes a report of investigations for each establishment visited.