Monthly Archives: October 2017
FINRA: ETF Trades from Representative Cost Customers $8.4 Million
A former representative from WFG Investments, Inc., agreed to a court decision that he be barred from the securities industry as penalty for recommending trades in particularly risky, nontraditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These funds led to about $8.4 million in losses to customers. This settlement was filed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). According […]
Second Circuit Court Lowers Bar for Causation in FMLA Retaliation Cases
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently determined that for an employee to be able to advance a viable retaliation claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), he or she only needs to demonstrate that exercising his or her rights under the act (such as taking protected leave) was viewed […]
Hospital Employee Awarded $4.5 Million After Reporting Discrimination, Retaliation
A hospital employee who filed a lawsuit alleging age and disability discrimination and employer retaliation was awarded $4.45 million. He filed the suit against his former employer, Grinnell Regional Medical Center, and the award included $220,009 in back pay, $2 million in emotional distress damages and $2.28 million for future emotional distress damages. According to […]
Sanofi-Aventis Earns $38 Million for Role in Blowing Whistle on Maker of EpiPens
Sanofi-Aventis, a large pharmaceutical company, was awarded $38.7 million for its role in bringing a $465 million False Claims Act case against Mylan. The company settled amid allegations that it knowingly misclassified EpiPen as a generic drug so it could avoid paying back the rebates it owed to Medicaid. The lawsuit was initially filed under […]
Whistleblower Files Lawsuit Against Honeywell International for Alleged Retaliation
A former employee has filed a lawsuit against Honeywell International, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Morris Plains, New Jersey. She is alleging fraud, breach of contract and discrimination. In the lawsuit, the woman claims Honeywell hired her to increase diversity, but essentially used her as “window dressing” for the company. She says Honeywell lured […]
Island Health and RMCP Investigate Possible Incident of Caregiver Stealing Senior’s Money
A woman who was hired to take care of a senior citizen from Nanaimo may have used that opportunity to steal his money, according to the 93-year-old man she was working for and his daughter. The man daughter says she has been “losing sleep” and “throwing up” because of the situation. The man said he […]
Navy Fired Whistleblower After Reports of Fuel Safety Risks
The U.S. Navy is under fire for terminating a civilian whistleblower who reportedly discovered life-threatening risks to pilots and others due to the improper testing of aircraft fueling equipment and jet fuel that was found to degrade aircraft engines and cause flameouts. The whistleblower was fired June 8, which just happened to be the same […]
Whistleblower’s Retaliation Claim in Minnesota Reinstated by Federal Appeals Court
The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled a whistleblower retaliation claim filed by a lab quality technician at a Springfield, Minnesota, facility run by MAT Holdings, Inc. would be allowed to proceed. In the claim, the worker claims he was fired after complaining to a state agency about his employer asking him to […]
Medicare Advantage Insurers Reach $32 Million Settlement in Whistleblower Case
A pair of Medicare Advantage insurers based in Florida agreed to pay nearly $32 million to settle a whistleblower claim. In the claim, a whistleblower alleged the insurance providers routinely exaggerated the severity of patients’ conditions and took various other steps to overbill Medicare. The suit was initially filed in 2009 by Dr. Darren Sewell, […]
