State-Specific Whistleblower Claims

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On March 11, 2019, a federal court in Minnesota rejected an employer’s attempt to litigate a plaintiff’s state-law whistleblower claim in a federal forum, ruling it was insufficient that the plaintiff alleged violations of federal regulations because the narrow exception to federal-question jurisdiction was not present.  Martinson v. Mahube-Otwa Cmty. …

On April 23, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that a plaintiff’s SOX claim precluded his claim for common law retaliatory discharge.  Cohen v. Power Solutions International, Inc., No. 17-cv-4385.

Plaintiff, a COO, claimed that in early 2016, he became suspicious of the…

On February 12, 2018, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi recently denied a motion for summary judgment in a SOX whistleblower claim where the defendant company alleged that it terminated the plaintiff pursuant to a reduction-in-force (RIF). Hendrick v. ITT Engineered Valves, LLC, No.…

On January 30, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted Defendant Public Service Electric & Gas Co.’s motion to dismiss a New Jersey common law wrongful termination claim in a whistleblower retaliation suit after finding that once discovery closes, a plaintiff may not continue pursuing…

On January 22, 2018, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict awarding approximately $1.5 million in damages to a radiation oncologist after finding that she had been constructively and wrongfully terminated in violation of Missouri law (specifically, “Missouri public policy”) in retaliation for reporting alleged instances of substandard…

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently granted a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim brought by an ex-project manager, finding that Plaintiff failed to allege that her protected activity involved any disclosures to the SEC.  Smith v. Raytheon Co., No. 17-cv-00438 (E.D. Va. Aug. 11, 2017).

The Northern District of Illinois recently dismissed an Indiana-based employee’s claims for retaliatory discharge in violation of common law pursuant to Illinois public policy, focusing on the nature of the connection (or lack thereof) to Illinois and noting that the plaintiff possessed adequate statutory remedies under federal whistleblower laws.  O’Risky…

On July 25, 2017, the Third Circuit allowed a plaintiff who was an in-house attorney to proceed with a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) based on its conclusion that CEPA protects attorneys from being discharged for refusing to violate Rules of Professional Conduct. Trzaska v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 13381 (3d Cir. July 25, 2017).

Background. Plaintiff was the former head of a regional patent team at the Company. As an attorney, he was bound by the Rules of Professional Conduct of both Pennsylvania (where he was admitted to practice law) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Plaintiff oversaw the process by which the Company invented and applied for patents on products. He alleged that the Company had an annual minimum quota for patents and that with fewer invention disclosures being submitted to the patent team for vetting, his team could only improve their chances of reaching the quota by filing frivolous patent applications. Plaintiff allegedly complained of this to his superiors, noting that the filing of frivolous or bad-faith patent applications violates the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct. Plaintiff further alleged that the Company responded by offering him the choice of severance or “go[ing] back to [his] office and get back to work.” His employment was subsequently terminated.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently granted a Rule 12(b)(1) and (6) motion to dismiss a former employee’s complaint alleging retaliation under the Illinois Whistleblower Act (“IWA”).  Huang v. Fluidmesh Networks, LLC, No. 16-cv-9566 (N.D. Ill. July 18, 2017).

Background.  Plaintiff was a Supply Chain and Manufacturing Manager for Defendant.  He alleged that Defendant’s Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”) falsely told a third party that a publicly-traded client intended to purchase Defendant.  Plaintiff alleged that because he thought this allegedly false information could impact the client’s stock price, he reported it to his direct supervisor, the CTO and the CTO’s supervisor.  Plaintiff claims that he told these individuals that the disclosure of the information was “illegal” and that he would report the violation to the appropriate authorities.  Plaintiff’s employment was terminated subsequent to his internal reports and he alleged that he received no explanation as to the basis for the termination.