Cal. LAB § 1558

(a) The Labor Commissioner shall enforce this part, including investigating an alleged violation, and ordering appropriate temporary relief to mitigate a violation or maintain the status quo pending the completion of a full investigation or hearing through the procedures set forth in Section 98, 98.3, 98.7, 98.74, or 1197.1, including issuing a citation against an employer who violates this section and filing a civil action. If a citation is issued, the procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations and civil penalties issued by the Labor Commissioner shall be the same as those set out in Section 98.74 or 1197.1, as applicable.

(b) This part may also alternatively be enforced by a public prosecutor pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 180) of Division 1.

(c) In any civil action brought pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the petitioner may seek appropriate temporary or preliminary injunctive relief, including punitive damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), in addition to any other remedy, an employer who violates this part may be subject to a penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) per employee for each violation.

(2) The penalty for a violation of Section 1555 shall be an amount up to five hundred dollars ($500) per employee for each day the violation occurs, up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per employee.

(3) An employee, the Labor Commissioner, or a public prosecutor may recover a penalty under this part as a statutory penalty paid to the employee or a civil penalty, but not both, for the same violation.

(e) An action brought pursuant to this section may be brought in the superior court in any county in which the violation in question is alleged to have occurred or in which the employer resides or transacts business.