California Code, Government Code - GOV § 53297

(a) An employee, or applicant for employment, shall have the right to file a complaint with the local agency within 60 days of the date of the act or event which is the subject of the complaint.

(b) Prior to filing a written complaint pursuant to this article, the employee shall first make a good faith effort to exhaust all available administrative remedies.  The 60-day time limit specified in subdivision (a) shall be extended by the amount of time actually utilized by the employee in pursuing available administrative remedies.

(c) A complaint pursuant to this article shall be filed in accordance with the locally adopted administrative procedure.  If there is no administrative procedure, the complaint shall be filed with the governing body.

(d) All complaints brought by employees under this article shall be filed under penalty of perjury.