Individuals who report an improper activity by a District employee or contractor doing business with BART or who participate in an investigation of suspected ethics violations are protected from retaliation under California Labor Code Section 1102.5 and other California laws, as well as BART’s Whistleblower Policy.  Retaliation can come in many forms and be direct or subtle, such as demotion, job elimination, job or shift reassignment, denial of training opportunities, increasing or decreasing the employee’s workload, excluding the employee from team emails or meetings, or denial of future contract awards. Employees who believe they have been retaliated against may be able to file a claim with the California Department of Industrial Relations to seek injunctive relief under California Labor Code Section 98.7.