Category Archives: Whistleblower Litigation
The SEC’s Groundbreaking Settlement with Yahoo
On April 24, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement with the Altaba, Inc., formerly known as Yahoo! Inc., worth $35 million. The figure settled charges that the company deliberately misled investors by waiting a full two years to release information about a data breach that resulted in hackers gaining access to personal […]
Judge Rules Google Pay Discrimination Case Can Proceed
A class action lawsuit filed against Google alleging pay discrimination based on gender will move forward after a ruling by California Superior Court Judge Mary E. Wiss. The original lawsuit was dismissed in December after a judge ruled the plaintiffs defined the classes of workers affected by the policy too generally. The plaintiffs then filed […]
Teacher Receives $388,000 in Whistleblower Claim Against School District
Pennie Davis, a longtime teacher for Jackson Public Schools in Michigan, won a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged the district retaliated against her when she talked to police rather than letting school officials deal with her claims of being assaulted in a classroom. The jury in the case awarded Pennie Davis $388,485 in damages from Jackson […]
Police Vest Whistleblower Gets a $5.7 Million Settlement
According to the Justice Department, a Michigan college professor who alerted the government to defective material in police vests will receive $5.7 million. The award is just one part of a larger $66 million settlement with a Japanese company, Toyobo, and its American subsidiary. Toyobo was alleged to have knowingly sold defective Zylon fiber that […]
Mortuary Whistleblower Awarded $4 Million After Threats, Retaliation
A judge in Birmingham, Alabama, awarded nearly $4 million to a whistleblower who was a former employee of a mortuary. Barry Taul, the former mortuary worker, reported a scheme in which the mortuary paid out kickbacks to former officials of the Alabama Organ Center in exchange for more business referrals. The funeral home collected tissues […]
Supreme Court Decision Places Limitations on the Protections for Corporate Whistleblowers
A February U.S. Supreme Court decision significantly limited the protections available for corporate whistleblowers. The court ruled in the case of Digital Realty Trust v. Somers that corporate whistleblowers are not protected from termination unless they reported possible instances of fraud to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The case is a big blow for […]
Customs Fraud a Growing Area of Whistleblower Law
Whistleblower lawsuits are on the rise across the board as would-be whistleblowers have been emboldened by more federal protections and increasingly valuable awards. A new field has suddenly jumped to the forefront in the world of whistleblower law: customs fraud. A 2016 decision by a federal appeals court in the case of United States ex. […]
Epic Systems Accused of Healthcare Fraud in Whistleblower Lawsuit
A lawsuit filed against Epic Systems, a digital health care records company based in Verona, Wisconsin, alleges the company systematically overbilled the government for Medicare and Medicaid. The lawsuit was initially filed under the False Claims Act (FCA) in 2015 by Geraldine Petrowski, a former employee for a health care company in North Carolina. Under […]
California’s Napa County Works to Start a Whistleblower Program
In just the latest example of local municipalities following the lead of state and federal governments in taking whistleblower protections more seriously, Napa County in California is looking to start its own whistleblower program to combat fraud and waste in county government. After establishing a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the county determined that without a […]
Centerlight Health System to Pay Nearly $60 Million in Whistleblower Billing Fraud Case
Centerlight Health System, Inc., a New York-based healthcare provider primarily serving elderly and disabled Medicaid patients, reached a new $10.3 million settlement in a case with state and federal elements over long-term care payments made to residents of adult homes, even if they were not eligible for coverage. Centerlight will pay this amount in addition […]
