Any employee not in the state personnel system, or any employee in the state personnel system who filed a complaint under section 24-50.5-104 (1) but the state personnel board determined after review or hearing that no violation of section 24-50.5-103 occurred, may bring a civil action in the district court alleging a violation of section 24-50.5-103. If the employee prevails, the employee may recover damages, together with court costs, and the court may order such other relief as it deems appropriate.
Source: L. 79: Entire article added, p. 967, § 1, effective June 15. L. 2006: Entire section amended, p. 100, § 2, effective August 7.
ANNOTATION
Compliance with the notice of claim provision of the Governmental Immunity Act, § 24-10-109, is necessary when an employee brings suit under the whistleblower statute seeking relief for injuries covered by § 24-10-103 (2). State Pers. Bd. v. Lloyd, 752 P.2d 559 (Colo. 1988).
Dismissal of a civil action filed under this section before trial is appropriate if the plaintiff did not make a disclosure of information as defined in § 24-50.5-102 (2) because the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act does not waive sovereign immunity in such a circumstance. Because the question of whether a claim falls within an exception to the CGIA's waiver of immunity is a question of subject matter jurisdiction, resolution of a factual dispute needed to determine the jurisdiction question is for the trial court rather than the jury. Ferrel v. Colo. Dept. of Corr., 179 P.3d 178 (Colo. App. 2007).