In the context of a 132a violation, which outcome is described for the injured worker?

• A. 100% back pay
• B. 0% back pay
• C. 51% or greater
• D. 75% back pay

Answer: (C)

When a 132a violation occurs, the injured worker is entitled to back pay for the wages lost because of the employer’s discriminatory action, and the employer can be hit with a civil penalty equal to 50% of that back pay. That means the total award is back pay plus a 50% penalty, so the back pay portion makes up two-thirds of the total (if back pay is 10,000, the penalty is 5,000, total 15,000; back pay is 10,000 of 15,000 ≈ 66.7%). Therefore the back pay portion is at least 51% of the total award.

So the outcome described for the injured worker is that back pay constitutes 51% or greater of the total 132a award. If you’re comparing options, the other choices don’t fit because they imply either no back pay, all of the award being back pay, or a smaller back-pay share than the actual two-thirds split created by back pay plus a 50% penalty.