CACI 4604 Affirmative Defense—Same Decision (Lab. Code, § 1102.6)

California Civil Jury Instructions CACI

4604 Affirmative Defense—Same Decision (Lab. Code, § 1102.6)


If [name of plaintiff] proves that [his/her/nonbinary pronoun] [disclosure of information of/refusal to participate in] an unlawful act was a contributing factor to [his/her/nonbinary pronoun] [discharge/[other adverse employment action]], [name of defendant] is not liable if [he/she/nonbinary pronoun/it] proves by clear and convincing evidence that [he/she/nonbinary pronoun/it] would have [discharged/[other adverse employment action]] [name of plaintiff] anyway at that time for legitimate, independent reasons.


New December 2013; Renumbered from CACI No. 2731 and Revised June 2015


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Directions for Use

Give this instruction in a so-called mixed-motive case under the whistleblower protection statute of the Labor Code. (See Lab. Code, § 1102.5; CACI No. 4603, Whistleblower Protection—Essential Factual Elements.) A mixed-motive case is one in which there is evidence of both a retaliatory and a legitimate reason for the adverse action. Even if the jury finds that the retaliatory reason was a contributing factor, the employer may avoid liability if it can prove by clear and convincing evidence that it would have made the same decision anyway for a legitimate reason. (Lab. Code, § 1102.6.)


Sources and Authority

Same-Decision Affirmative Defense. Labor Code section 1102.6.

“[Plaintiff] points to Labor Code section 1102.6, which requires the employer to prove a same-decision defense by clear and convincing evidence when a plaintiff has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer’s violation of the whistleblower statute was a ‘contributing factor’ to the contested employment decision. Yet the inclusion of the clear and convincing evidence language in one statute does not suggest that the Legislature intended the same standard to apply to other statutes implicating the same-decision defense.” (Harris v. City of Santa Monica (2013) 56 Cal. 4th 203, 239 [152 Cal.Rptr.3d 392, 294 P.3d 49]; internal citation omitted.)

“[W]hen we refer to a same-decision showing, we mean proof that the employer, in the absence of any discrimination, would have made the same decision at the time it made its actual decision.” (Harris, supra, 56 Cal.4th at p. 224, original italics.)


Secondary Sources

3 Witkin, Summary of California Law (10th ed. 2005) Agency and Employment, §§ 373, 374
Chin et al., California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation, Ch. 5(II)-A, Retaliation Under Title VII and FEHA, ¶ 5:1538 (The Rutter Group)
4 Wilcox, California Employment Law, Ch. 60, Liability for Wrongful Termination and Discipline, § 60.03 (Matthew Bender)
21 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 249, Employment Law: Termination and Discipline, § 249.12 (Matthew Bender)