Taswell

*346 INTRODUCTION

*631 Plaintiff Carl Taswell, M.D., who is certified in nuclear medicine, filed a complaint against the Regents of the University of California (the Regents). Taswell alleged he was retaliated against for his whistleblowing activities regarding patient safety at the brain imaging center during his employment by the University of California, Irvine (the University). Taswell appealed from the judgment entered after the trial court granted the Regents' motion for summary judgment and summary adjudication. We reverse.

We hold that, following an administrative hearing, Taswell was not required to exhaust his judicial remedies (by seeking a writ of mandamus) to challenge the University's rejection of his claims of retaliation. We also hold that, after exhausting his administrative remedies, Taswell was statutorily authorized to file this civil action and seek damages based on his statutory whistleblower retaliation claims; the administrative decision has no res judicata or collateral estoppel effect on this action.

Also, a triable issue of material fact exists as to whether the University's decisions to place Taswell on an investigatory leave of absence and to not…