(a) Any officer, manager, or supervisor who violates Section 53298 with malicious intent is punishable by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and imprisonment in the county jail for up to a period of one year. In addition, any local agency officer, manager, or supervisor who maliciously engages in conduct prohibited by Section 53298 shall be disciplined as provided by local personnel rules and regulations.

(b) In addition to all other penalties provided by law, any local officer, manager, or supervisor who has been found by a court to have violated the provisions of Section 53298 with malicious intent shall be individually liable for damages in an action brought against him or her by the injured employee. Punitive damages may be awarded by the court where the offending party has acted with malice. Where liability has been established, the injured employee shall also be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees as provided by law. In no way, shall the provisions of this article establish any liability for punitive damages or any new cause of action against the local public entity other than liabilities contained in existing law.

Terms Used In California Government Code 53298.5

  • County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Employee: means any person employed by a local agency. See California Government Code 53296
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Local agency: means any county, city, city and county, including any charter county, city, or city and county, and any district, school district, community college district, municipal or public corporation, political subdivision, or public agency of the state, or any instrumentality of any one or more of these agencies. See California Government Code 53296
  • Manager: means any employee having significant responsibilities for formulating or administering local agency or departmental policies and programs or administering the local agency or a department. See California Government Code 53296
  • Officer: means any appointed member of a local board, commission, or other governing body who supervises or is responsible for the work of one or more local agency employers. See California Government Code 53296
  • supervisor: means any employee regardless of job description or title, having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend this action, if, in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of this authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment. See California Government Code 53296

(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 353, Sec. 7.)

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