12653. (a) Any employee, contractor, or agent shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make that employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, contractor, or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of that employee’s, contractor’s, or agent’s employment because of lawful acts done by the employee, contractor, agent, or associated others in furtherance of an action under this section or other efforts to stop one or more violations of this article.(b) Relief under this section shall include reinstatement with the same seniority status that the employee, contractor, or agent would have had but for the discrimination, two times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, and, where appropriate, punitive damages. The defendant shall also be required to pay litigation costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. An action under this section may be brought in the appropriate superior court of the state.(c) A civil action under this section shall not be brought more than three years after the date

rney’s fees. An action under this section may be brought in the appropriate superior court of the state.(c) A civil action under this section shall not be brought more than three years after the date when the retaliation occurred.(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 50, Sec. 113. (AB 378) Effective January 1, 2022.)