In 2014, the then Chief Trial Deputy in San Fransisco was fired. She says that she’d been investigating potential fraud and was fired as a retaliation, which is illegal. She filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.
A jury just sided with her, saying that the city of San Fransisco should pay her around $2 million. The city attorney then said they were still looking into all of the various options that were left for them in light of that ruling.
The investigation that the woman was carrying out centered around sewer lines that had been broken or damaged by tree roots. Technically, the city owned those trees. Payments were then made to plumbers and homeowners for the replacement of those pipes.
The man in charge, who fired her, said it wasn’t because of her investigation, which never even officially determined that fraudulent payments existed. He said he did not like the management style that she used. While she started looking into the alleged fraud in 2012, he said he was already looking around for someone to take her job in 2010.
Of course, if that’s true, she still held her job for around four years after he started seeking a replacement.
She did not get the full total that she was after from the jury, as she’d asked for $6 million.
Firings to cover up fraud and other illegal activity are not permitted, though workers are often afraid to report this activity for fear of losing their jobs. If your rights have been violated and you’ve been illegally fired, you must know if you have a right to substantial compensation.
Source: California Patch, “City Loses Wrongful Termination Lawsuit,” March 21, 2017