Personal Injury Law

Roseville Employee Files Wrongful Termination Action, Part 2 of 8

By Moseley Collins, Esq.

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

WRONGFUL TERMINATION IN VIOLATION OF PUBLIC POLICY AND VIOLATION OF LABOR CODE SECTION 6310 (AND HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE SECTION 1278.5)

Foundation has filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on all claims, including the major claim for Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy. For settlement purposes, it is important to recognize that Foundation cannot win summary judgment or summary adjudication on this claim because of the existence of disputed issues of material fact, as well as Foundation's incorrect interpretation of the law.

The pretextual reason given for Ms. Smith's termination was her printing of a memorandum, addressed to her and publicly viewable on her supervisor's computer screen, regarding discipline that her supervisor, Scott Dawson, apparently intended to impose in retaliation for her frequent complaints about the incompetence of Foundation management and Foundation's many continuing safety and OSHA violations. At Ms. Smith's termination hearing Mr. White also falsely claimed that Ms. Smith had accessed his Lotus Notes account and printed other documents from his work computer.

Ms. Smith's termination letter referred to the following reasons for her termination: Violation of the Principle of Responsibilities, breach of confidentiality, invasion of privacy and violation of FG computer assets. (These should have been the reasons for Mr. White's termination.) Ms. Smith printed the draft disciplinary memorandum and brought it to COO Oliver Browne because of Ms. Smith?s concern that Sam White had left it visible on his screen in an open cubicle for everyone to see, thereby violating her privacy rights as an employee. The act of leaving the draft disciplinary memorandum visible for everyone to see violated Foundation's Principles of Responsibility, breached Ms. Smith's right to confidentiality of her personnel records, violated her right to privacy, and was a violation of Foundation's Electronic Assets Usage policy. Instead of properly discharging Sam White for his multiple violations of policy, Foundation, in violation of its own anti-retaliation policy, retaliated against Ms. Smith for complaining about Mr. White?s egregious violation of her confidentiality and privacy and terminated Ms. Smith instead.

Full post as published by Sacramento Injury Lawyer Blog on June 15, 2009 (boomark / email).