We are excited to release our latest video. This one is about how much money retaliation lawsuits can be worth. In this video Branigan explains recovery from three different perspectives: people who got fired, people who quit, and employees who are still employed. This video is a necessary addition to our Ultimate Guide to Retaliation Law webpage.
If you would rather watch the video on YouTube, click here.
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Filed under Retaliation, Settlements, Verdicts
We are excited to release our latest video. This one is on retaliation, specifically, what exactly is unlawful retaliation and when do you have a case? In this video Branigan explains when you might have a case and how much it may be worth. This is meant to be an introductory video to our Ultimate Guide to Retaliation Law webpage. So, give it a watch!
If you would rather watch the video on YouTube, click here.
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Filed under Retaliation
We are excited to release our latest video. This one is on retaliation, specifically, how to prove that retaliation is happening to you. In this video Branigan explains the dangers of going to war with your boss and trying to “prove” retaliation to HR. He also explains how a retaliation lawyer like Branigan goes about proving your case in court. So, give it a watch!
If you would rather watch the video on YouTube, click here.
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Filed under Retaliation
Branigan Robertson just finished filming a whiteboard video on retaliation. This video can also be found on our retaliation page which gives a comprehensive overview of CA law regarding retaliation in the workplace. We hope you find it helpful.
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January 28, 2017 · 9:19 amLast week, a San Francisco jury demonstrated that California takes the rights of whistleblowers seriously. Trish Williams, a former sales rep for Wyndham Vacation Ownership, was awarded $20 million in a civil lawsuit against her former employer.
According to a press release issued by the lawyers representing Williams, their client was terminated after she reported the company’s shady business practices, which included defrauding elderly customers through dishonest sales tactics. “I am grateful a jury of 12 people exposed the facts of this fraud and confirmed that I was terminated for standing up to Wyndham on behalf of the elderly clients they were ripping off,” Williams said after the verdict was handed down.
During the one-month trial, William’s lawyers presented evidence that sales reps maxed out customer credit cards, lied about reducing timeshare maintenance fees, and mislead clients about their ability to obtain rental income from timeshares.
Sales reps were encouraged to engage in a practice known as “pitching heat,” which consisted of using deliberate misrepresentations in an effort to get customers to buy more timeshare “points.”
There were even TAFT days, an acronym for “Tell Them Any F***ing Thing,” when sales reps were encouraged to tell clients anything as long as they didn’t put it in writing. One high ranking sales rep was quoted as saying “I sold my soul to the devil. I can say whatever I want so long as I don’t put it in writing, that’s why Wyndham has good lawyers.”
According to online news outlet SF Gate, Williams began working for a Wyndham vacation resort located in Virginia back in 2007, but transferred to an office in San Francisco in 2010. During her 63 days with that office, Williams reportedly complained seven times about dishonest sales tactics before being fired.
SF Gate reported that Wyndham tricked elderly clients, some in their 90s, into buying time share points by signing up for credit cards. The company would max out the cards without the clients’ knowledge.
Though according to court documents, the average fraudulent credit card bill was $52,000, Williams said she saw a bill for as much as $90,000. Because some of these customers had long standing relationships with the company, they weren’t reviewing documents they were signing, said Williams.
“A lot of these couples had been owners (with Wyndham) for years,” Williams said. “They were vulnerable.” The former Wyndham employee, who now works as a hostess at a grill in Virginia Beach, said she reported the alleged fraud to an executive, who threatened to fire her.
In California, there are multiple laws in place designed to protect workers. These include the Fair Housing and Employment Act, the State Labor Code, wrongful termination case law, as well as the Federal Civil Rights Act. There are various retaliation laws that protect workers.
For example, California Labor Code §1102.5(a) makes it illegal for an employer to enforce any rule that prevents an employee from cooperating with law enforcement, or another employee who has “authority to investigate, discover or correct” a workplace violation. Subsection (d) of the law further makes it illegal for the employer to retaliate against the employee for exercising his or her rights under the law.
Despite the fact that a jury awarded a large sum of money in the whistleblower’s favor in the recent Wyndham case, it appears that the time-share giant intends to appeal the decision. Adam Schwartz, a Wyndham spokesman said the company does not agree with the jury’s findings.
“The allegations in this case were isolated to a single sales office years ago involving a small group of individuals who are no longer employed by the company, and are wholly inconsistent with both our values and business practices,” Schwartz said.
For her part, Williams said she wanted to go to trial despite having the option of settling. Four other Wyndham employees joined Williams in her lawsuit. However, all settled.
“If you don’t come before a jury, no one will ever know,” said Williams. “Everyone was trying to buy me off and shut me up, but I had nothing but faith for six whole years that this was going to turn out exactly how it was going to turn out.”
Wyndham Worldwide is the parent company of Wyndham Vacation Ownership. According to the company website, the vacation ownership division is the world’s largest developer and marketer of points-based vacation ownership products. The company claims to have developed a new business model in the time-share field, which utilizes “industry-leading sales and marketing expertise to sell vacation ownership interests.”
Please note: Mr. Robertson was not involved in this case and did not represent any of the affected parties. This article is simply meant to share the victory and explain CA law. If you want to learn more about Branigan Robertson, visit his employment lawyer website homepage.
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Filed under Retaliation
Unfortunately, retaliation at work is still a widespread occurrence throughout California. Many employers do not know the law, so it is no surprise when an employee refuses to participate in an illegal activity or reports a violation of law, the employer retaliates against the employee for being “insubordinate.” So what is retaliation?
Retaliation is when an employer takes adverse action against an employee for reporting or opposing an illegal practice in the workplace. Adverse action by the employer can occur in the form of a demotion, a cut in pay, a decrease in hours or a termination. There are many things that are illegal or violation under California law such as a nurse reporting patient abuse by other nurses, an accountant refusing to cook the books, or a worker reporting wage and hour violations by his or her employer.
Michael Marlo v. UPS is a great case example of retaliation in the workplace. Plaintiff worked for UPS for over twenty years. At some point in during his time working for UPS, he filed a class action lawsuit alleging wage and hour violations. The class action failed though and he ended up pursuing an individual wage and hour claim. In the same year he filed his individual claim, plaintiff would encourage his co-workers to file their own wage and hour claims against UPS. Over fifty UPS workers filed individual wage and hour claims. In the same year, plaintiff was terminated.
Plaintiff argued that UPS retaliated against him for reporting wage and hour violations in the workplace. Further, plaintiff argued that the reasons stated by UPS for his termination was just a pretext to get rid of him as UPS viewed his lawsuits and discussions with co-workers as a distraction in the workplace. Defendant argued that plaintiff was fired due an incident that occurred with a customer in the same year he filed his individual lawsuit. Defendant further argued that plaintiff broke numerous policies, and that is why he was fired.
The jury in Michael Marlo v. UPS sided with the plaintiff and awarded the plaintiff with over $18 million dollars in damages. The jury was not convinced that the real reason plaintiff was fired was due to an incident with a customer. This case is a classic retaliation case (but the damages ended up being extremely high). Plaintiff opposeed violations of law, and even filed multiple lawsuits while he was still working there. In the same year as one of his lawsuits, the company fired him after twenty-two years of great service. The facts on their face pretty much scream retaliation.
If you have worked for an employer for many years and recently reported or opposed illegal activity, and now your employer is retaliating against you, call a whistleblower lawyer for a free consultation. You can also visit our retaliation page here.
Filed under Retaliation, Whistleblower
On July 13, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 304, an amendment to current sick leave law, thereby amending the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (also known as “HWHFA”). Assembly Bill 304 basically states that any California employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works for 30 or more days within a year from the start of employment is entitled to paid sick days for various reasons. And further, these paid sick days are to be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every thirty hours works.
The goal of HWHFA is to provide enhanced job protection for low wage employees across California as a little less than half of the workforce currently does not receive paid time off for illness.
This applies to all employers, whether private or public, of any size. This also applies, not only to full time employees, but part time, seasonal, and exempt employees. In addition, Assembly Bill 304 applies to employees who take a paid sick leave to care for a family member.
If an employer takes adverse action against an employee or terminates an employee for exercising his or her right under this new law, then the employee may have a viable claim against his or her employer. This is because it is unlawful for an employer to retaliate or discriminate against an employee who advocates for, or requests or uses paid sick days.
At the end of the day, this is great news for California workers. Not only does the assembly bill provide a new benefit to employees, but also provides job security for employees as well. If your employer is retaliating or discriminating against you, then you should call an employment attorney immediately. You will feel incredibly blessed to have an experienced advisor on your side.
Filed under Retaliation
