Benjamin Nowain of Redding fought his firing by Shasta County and won his case through arbitration. He asserted his firing was politically motivated. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
A Redding man who won his Shasta County job back says his legal victory is an example to others that they, too, can successfully fight for their rights.
Benjamin Nowain, 43, says political pressure was the reason behind his firing after he sought to file a whistleblower complaint.
An independent arbitrator ruled on Jan. 10 that Nowain should be reinstated as an analyst with benefits and back pay, which could amount to thousands of dollars.
He says his arbitration case, where he prevailed with backing from his union (United Public Employees of California, Local 792), shows that others facing a similar plight can achieve justice.
“My hope is that the county has learned their lesson in how to treat employees,” Nowain said. “I really hope that I could be an example for other employees to stand up for their rights – to stand up for their colleagues.”
Nowain, who has an 11-year work history with the county, was employed as a staff service analyst II when he was fired about 14 months ago. He worked in an administrative office at 2600 Park Marina Drive in the technology department for the Health and Human Services Agency.
“It essentially was a sort of intermediary department – in between it and a lot of the other departments. We handled managing people’s cell phones. We helped with Medi-Cal billing, with the technical software,” Nowain said.
His department ran reports and oversaw “anything that needed to be done that was sort of technology related. We would review contracts and stuff like that,” he said.
(Full disclosure: Nowain has written freelance stories for A News Cafe, and is the host of the North State Breakdown internet newscast whose past episodes have been published by A News Cafe.)
Nowain was placed on administrative leave in July 2024 pending an investigation, and then was terminated on Oct. 25, 2024.
“Basically what happened is I heard a rumor that I felt needed to be investigated,” he said.
“I felt that an elected official and … like somebody in leadership may be having an inappropriate workplace relationship that could’ve affected their objectivity,” he said.
Nowain said he intended to file a report, but a link to the whistleblower line wasn’t working at the time so he reached out to a colleague.
“I was like, ‘Hey, I want to want to do a whistleblower.’ And they went, ‘Well, what is it?’ And so I went, ‘Well, it’s about X, Y and Z. It’s about this inappropriate relationship.’
“That was the impetus for what the county determined as rumor spreading. Now I asserted that it was a protected whistleblower activity,” he said.
Benjamin Nowain, center with bullhorn, leads a sidewalk march along Cypress Avenue in Redding as part of the “Good Trouble Lives On” rally on July 17, 2025. Demonstrators protested throughout the country that day, saying they were outraged by the Trump administration’s attacks on human rights. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
Nowain, a frequent critic of the Board of Supervisors’ majority who also protests at local demonstrations, wrote his own press release on the arbitration outcome that stated the following:
“The ruling found the county failed to follow required disciplinary standards and determined that senior county leadership — including the county’s top administrative official and an elected official — intervened in the disciplinary process, undermining the legitimacy of the county’s actions.”
The arbitrator, David A. Weinberg of Mill Valley, ordered Shasta County to reinstate Nowain, with a one-week suspension, and that “he be made whole” for lost pay and benefits.
The arbitration hearings were conducted via ZOOM in September 2025 and the closing briefs were filed on Dec. 17.
Nowain was represented by attorney Taylor Davies-Mahaffey of the Sacramento law firm Mastagni Holstedt while the county retained Jesse Maddox and Hoaithi Y. T. Nguyen of the Fresno law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore.
One of Shasta County’s arguments, as stated in the Decision and Award document from the arbitration case, claimed there was “no evidence of retaliation due to Nowain filing his whistleblower complaint and (he) would have faced discipline without his complaint.”
However, the arbitrator said the county failed to demonstrate just cause for Nowain’s firing and that Nowain getting axed was “arbitrary and capricious.”
“While the appellant (Nowain) had every right to file the whistleblower complaint, he did not have a right to discuss the rumor with (an employee) at the workplace,” adding that “the conversation was short and at worst his actions constitute the type of gossip that exists in every workplace,” according to the arbitration document.
Weinberg stated in the document that “the type of gossip which Nowain engaged in … is not uncommon in the county and normally results in counseling.”
Nowain says he believes, both then and now, that he acted in good faith.
“I hope this outcome encourages others who feel mistreated at work to know that these battles are worth fighting — and that it is possible to win,” he said in his news release.
Nowain said last week he hadn’t decided about whether to take additional legal action but that he’s “reviewing all legal options moving forward.”
Protest organizer Benjamin Nowain raises his fist during a demonstration on May 5, 2025, outside the Ninja Coalition HQ business that’s owned by Shasta County Supervisor Kevin Crye at the Mt. Shasta Mall in Redding. Local demonstrators showed their support for Joanna Francescut, the former assistant registrar of voters, after the Board of Supervisors chose Clint Curtis to serve as county elections chief. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
Nowain yells, gets arrested
Meanwhile, Nowain was arrested by the sheriff’s office on Jan. 6 after he yelled from the audience during a Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting and refused to leave.
A woman was speaking at the podium on an agenda item about whether a single supervisor should have the ability to place an item on the agenda when Nowain insisted that she give examples.
“I felt I could add to the conversation by simply shouting out,” Nowain said.
Board Chairman Chris Kelstrom gave Nowain a warning, saying: “Quit yelling out from the crowd. That’s your first warning.”
When Nowain said he shouted from his chair once again, Kelstrom kicked him out before calling for a recess.
“OK. That’s it. Have him removed,” Kelstrom said, referring to Nowain. “You get one warning and you’re gone,” the board chair said.
“They brought somebody over to handcuff me and take me over (to the jail) for booking,” Nowain said.
He said he’s facing a misdemeanor charge of disrupting a public meeting under the same penal code that his wife, Jenny, was recently convicted of in Superior Court.
Nowain went back to the board meeting after his booking and a deputy asked him to leave again, which he did.
“I walked (back) into the room and here’s my reasoning: No one told me I couldn’t (return),” Nowain said.
He said he’s been given a March 23 court date, but last week added that he’s waiting to see if the District Attorney’s Office will proceed and charge him.
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