Tag Archives: labor and employment
Judge Will Allow Dow Whistleblower to File Wrongful Termination Suit
A federal judge is allowing an ex-fraud investigator for Dow Chemical Co. to pursue a wrongful termination claim. Kimberly Wood, who had worked for 25 years at Dow before the company fired her in October, alleges that the company was engaged in significant financial misconduct, specifically major spending by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew […]
Bank of America Whistleblower Wins $57 Million Decision
In what is being considered a record, landmark case, a former bank executive at Countrywide Financial (now owned by Bank of America Corporation) was awarded $57 million for exposing the presence of fraud in the company’s mortgage practices. Edward O’Donnell initially filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Countrywide, accusing the company of defrauding mortgage finance […]
Whistleblower Awarded $175 Million in Trinity Industries Lawsuit
A federal jury determined that Trinity Industries, a Texas-based guardrail manufacturer, must pay $175 million in penalties after a whistleblower alerted authorities to False Claims Act violations by the company. Trinity manufactures many of the guardrails that you see as you drive on highways and roads across the nation. Josh Harman, the whistleblower in the […]
Former St. Petersburg VA Attorney Files Whistleblower Suit
Javier Soto was at one point a Ratings Benefits Services Representative for the St. Petersburg region office of the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, after he released a report that spoke to the “poor, inept and inaccurate” process of quality control for benefits claims at the VA, he was released from his duties. Now, […]
Study Shows Companies Face Larger Penalties When Whistleblowers Involved
A recently published study indicates that companies face much larger monetary penalties whenever a whistleblower is involved in enforcement actions against the company. In an average case, those companies paid penalties that were 63 percent higher with whistleblowers than in cases where there was no whistleblower. Data for the study came from information from the […]
Senators Present New Whistleblower Law for Auto Industry
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla) recently presented a new piece of legislation that will protect the rights of whistleblowers within the auto industry, and offer them the potential to be paid millions of dollars in rewards for particular types of cases. The new bill would give the secretary of transportation the […]
Whistleblower Takes Next Step in Lawsuit Against Philadelphia School District
Four years ago, Francis X. Dougherty was fired after revealing the existence of a $7.5 million no-bid security camera contract within the Philadelphia School District. Now, he has won a major victory in his whistleblower lawsuit against the district, with the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that he was exercising his first amendment […]
SEC Reports Amount of Whistleblower Tips, Awards Rose in 2014
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released its annual report on its new whistleblower program, and according to that report, whistleblower tips and awards through the agency are on the rise. This year saw more than 3,500 tips from whistleblowers, the largest number the agency has received since beginning its whistleblower program three […]
UPS Changes Pregnant Worker Policy with Case Pending in Supreme Court
According to a memo recently sent out to all UPS employees, as of January 1, 2015 the company will offer its temporary light duty positions to pregnant workers as well as workers that have suffered injuries on the job. This comes as UPS gets ready to engage in a high-profile Supreme Court case, Young v. […]
11th Circuit Brings Back Part of Whistleblower Suit
According to the ruling of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a former health care executive that exposed a kickback and illegal referral scheme by his employer will be allowed to proceed with certain allegations listed in his False Claims Act lawsuit against his ex-employer. J. Michael Mastej, the whistleblower in this case, […]
