Whistleblower Jury Verdicts and Settlements

 

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Whistleblower retaliation laws provide a wide range of remedies, including damages for lost pay, emotional distress, and harm to reputation and career prospects.  In addition, some whistleblower retaliation laws authorize the award of punitive damages.

Jurors often quickly grasp the serious consequences of the retaliation that whistleblowers endure, and recognize the important public interest in ensuring that whistleblowers can disclose wrongdoing. The courageous whistleblowers that we represent put a lot on the line to disclose financial fraud, threats to public health or safety, and other wrongdoing.  They deserve compensation when they are retaliated against for doing the right thing.

The table below identifies some of the larger verdicts or public settlements in whistleblower cases in recent years.  These cases were handled by a variety of law firms.

The whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law bring substantial experience and sound judgment to complex whistleblower cases.  We are ready to go the distance to maximize a client’s recovery.  Eric Bachman’s wins include a $100 million settlement in a disparate impact Title VII class action and a $16 million class action settlement against a major grocery chain.  He has served as lead or co-counsel in numerous jury trials, and is ready to fight for you to obtain the relief that you deserve.  Before retaining a lawyer, find out their track record and how they work with clients.

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To learn more about laws protecting and rewarding whistleblowers, including the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protection law, call the whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law at 202-262-8959.

Damages in Whistleblower Retaliation Cases

Verdict or Settlement	Case Name, Court, and Year	Claim/Statute	Summary
$75M	Jacobs v. Las Vegas Sands Corp., A-10-627691-B (Nev.Dist.Ct. 2012)	Wrongful termination	Former CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp, Steve Jacobs, was terminated for brining to light “improprieties” in the way the Macau business conducted its affairs.
$25M	Babyak v. Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., Case No. BC601259 (Super. Ct. Cal. 2017)	Whistleblower retaliation	Cardiovascular Systems (NSDQ:CSII) was found liable for approximately $25.1 million in damages in a whistleblower retaliation suit involving a former regional sales manager, Steven Babyak. According to the court filings, Babyak alleged the company terminated him after he raised concerns about issues relating to patient safety and violations of state and federal laws. Babyak worked for the company for 3 years, and was fired on June 1, 2015. On April 24, 2017, the jury awarded Babyak $2.7 in compensatory damages and an additional $22.4 million in punitive damages. Cardiovascular Systems' SEC filing disclosing the verdict be found here.
$20M	Williams v. Wyndham Vacation Ownership., No. CGC-12-526187 (Cal.Super. Ct. 2016)	Wrongful termination	Sales representative, Trish Williams, was terminated after reporting that Wyndham salespeople were preying on older time-share owners to get them to increase their holdings and were falsely telling customers that Wyndham would buy back their ownership stakes if they no longer wanted them.
$11M	Wadler v. Bio-Rad Labs., Inc., , No. 15-CV-02356-JCS (N.D. Cal. 2017)	Sarbanes-Oxley	Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. terminated Sanford Walder, the company’s GC of nearly 25 years, after he reported potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Bio-Rad claimed it terminated Walder’s employment due to poor work performance and behavior. However, it took a jury only three hours of deliberation to conclude that Bio-Rad retaliated against Walder for his disclosures. The jury found Walder was entitled to $2.96 million in lost wages, which will likely be doubled under the Dodd-Frank Act, and stock options and $5 million for punitive damages.
$10M	Pedowitz, M.D., v. The Regents of the University of California, et al., 2014 WL 1661270 (Cal.Super. 2014)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Dr. Robert Pedowitz, former chairman of UCLA’s orthopedic surgery department, was terminated after raising concerns about colleagues who had financial ties to medical-device makers or other companies that could unduly influence their care of patients or taint important medical research.
$7.7M	Easley v. N.J. Dept. of Corrections, et al., No. L-000094-13, complaint (N.J. Super. Ct., Burlington Co., Jan. 10, 2013)	New Jersey Whistleblower Protection Law	Lisa Easley, a prison official at the Alfred C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility, was terminated after assisting the FBI with an investigation of a higher-ranking prison official who was soliciting bribes from employees. Easley's termination came just before she would have qualified for full retirement benefits. A jury awarded Easley $6.5 million in punitive damages, $1 million for emotional distress, and more than $265,000 in back pay as a result of the retaliation.
$7.4M	Juarez v. RadioShack Corporation, JVR No. 1504140030, 2013 WL 10477609 (Cal.Super. 2013)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	RadioShack terminated former Store Manager, Jose Juarez, after he reported fraudulent, illegal and unethical practices taking place in the store.
$6M	Zulfer v. Playboy Enterprises Inc.,JVR No. 1405010041, 2014 WL 1891246 (C.D.Cal. 2014)	Sarbanes-Oxley	Playboy terminated Zulfer shortly after she opposed paying bonuses to senior executives that were not authorized by the Board.
$5M	McQueary v. Pa. St. Univ., No. 2012-1804, (Ct. C.P. Centre County 2016)	Wrongful termination	McQueary was terminated by Penn State University as a result of his testimony against officials who failed to act on his February 2001 report of a sex abuse incident involving Jerry Sandusky.
$4.3M	Crowley v. Watson, 2016 IL App (1st) 142847, 51 N.E.3d 69, 72, appeal denied, 50 N.E.3d 1139 (Ill. 2016)	Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act	A former school official at Chicago State University, James Crowley, was terminated after accusing the school’s former president of misconduct. A jury awarded Crowley more than $3 million in 2014 for the retaliation. The school avoided payment, which grew at 6% interest, while it appealed the verdict. In early 2017, the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision and ordered the university to pay Crowley $4.3 million.
$4.3M	Carpenter v. Sandia Corp., 2007 WL 1108465 (N.M. Dist. 2007)	New Mexico wrongful termination	Sandia National Laboratories terminated Shawn Carpenter after he refused to comply with Sandia directives that he not disclose information “relating to serious breaches of national security to anyone inside or outside Sandia,” such as the FBI or the Army research lab.
$4M	Cerbone v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Sacramento, JVR No. 1505180066, 2015 WL 2394119 (Cal.Super. 2015)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Christopher Cerbone, a former Physical Education Teacher and Head Varsity Football Coach, was terminated by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Sacramento after he discovered and reported sexual hazing scandal, which had been occurring among student athletes at the school.
$3.5M	Payne v. District of Columbia, 773 F.Supp.2d 89 (D.D.C 2011)	D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act	Former city contracting officer, Eric W. Payne, claimed that he was terminated for refusing to cancel a contract and subsequently reporting the pressure to cancel the contract to two investigative agencies in the city government. The District of Columbia agreed to settle the whistleblower lawsuit for $3.53 million.
$3.5M	Blakeslee v. Shaw Infrastructure Inc., JVR No. 1307080043, 2013 WL 3457020 (D.Alaska 2013)	False Claims Act Retaliation	Shaw Infrastructure, Inc. terminated Paul Blakeslee after he wrote a letter to the company expressing concerns about another employee who was allegedly overcharging the government for work at military installations.
$3.3M	Roundtree v. Los Angeles Unified School District, et al., JVR No. 1510130054, 2014 WL 10537455 (Cal.Super. 2015)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Archie Roundtree, a certified Senior Aerospace Science Instructor, was terminated by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) after he raised concerns about the school’s practice of involuntarily enrolling students into ROTC classes violating federal law and the LAUSD contract.
$3.2M	Bailets v. Pa. Turnpike Comm'n, No. 265 M.D. 2009, (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2016)	Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law	Ralph Bailets, a manager for the Turnpike Commission, was terminated after exposing a substantial misuse and waste of Commonwealth funds and resources.
$3M	Crawley v. Chicago State University, No. 10 L 12657 (Cook County, Ill., Law Div. 2014)	Illinois wrongful termination	James Crowley, a former Chicago State University employee, was fired in retaliation for reporting alleged misconduct by the university president and other top officials.
$2.5M	Roganti v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 786 F.3d 201 (2d Cir. 2015)	Sarbanes-Oxley	Ronald A. Roganti, former MetLife Financial Services Vice President, was terminated after protesting the company’s alleged failure to monitor the employment of registered representatives with tainted personnel histories and insisting on following regulations governing compensation to account executives.
$2.1M	U.S. v. ManTech Int'l Corp., No. 1:16-cv-132 (E.D. Va. Sep. 14, 2016)	False Claims Act Retaliation	Two employees were fired after raising concerns that ManTech had manipulated a contract to defraud the government.
$2.1M	Doculan v. Bayonne Medical Center, No. HUD-L-6670-10 (Law Div. May 7, 2013)	New Jersey wrongful termination	Ceferino Doculan, Jr. was terminated by Bayonne Medical Center (BMC) after he made several complaints to hospital management, the HR department and the director of the laboratory department regarding unlawful staffing practices at BMC.
$2M	Hoeper v. City and County of San Francisco, No. CGC-15-543553 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 17, 2017)	California Whistleblower Protection Act and False Claims Act Retaliation	Former deputy city attorney, Joanne Hoeper, was fired for exposing a long-running illegal payment scheme between municipal officials and plumbing companies.
$1.8M	Becker v. Cmty. Health Sys., No. 2014-SOX-00044 (Nov. 9, 2016)	Sarbanes-Oxley	Rockwood Clinic violated SOX by constructively discharging Gregg Becker, Rockwood’s CFO, for his refusal to lower his projection of the company’s losses by $8 million.
$1.7M	Wright v. Ada County, 160 Idaho 491, 376 P.3d 58 (2016).	Whistleblower Act	Richard Wright, former Public Information Officer of Ada County, was terminated by the Board of Commissioners for launching an investigation into one of his employees for harassment.
$1.7M	Payne v. District of Columbia, et al., No. 2012-ca-6163 (DC Superior Court 2016)	D.C. Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) Act	Eric Payne was terminated after complaining that then-Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and then-Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) sought to steer a $228 million lottery contract.
$1.7M	Parexel Int’l Corp. v. Feliciano, No. CIV.A. 04-CV-3798, 2008 WL 2704569 (E.D. Pa. July 3, 2008)	Sarbanes-Oxley	Oswaldo Feliciano was terminated by Barnett International after reporting to superiors that the company’s marketing lists had been obtained by fraudulent means.
$1.7M	U.S. v. Miami-Dade County & Miami-Dade Transit Authority, 25 Fla. J.V.R.A. 5:10, 2015 WL 3823100 (S.D.Fla. 2015)	False Claims Act Retaliation	Marjan M., a former executive-level employee of Miami Dade Transit (MDT), was terminated after reporting MDT’s fraudulent misapplication of grant funds received from the Federal Transit Administration.
$1.7M	Pietrowski v. The Kintock Group, JVR No. 1304230012, 2013 WL 1737877 (Pa.Com.Pl. 2013)	New Jersey wrongful termination	Marla Pietrowski was terminated after she raised concerns about her manager’s drug activity and the fact that he apparently violated public policy when he brought his child to a facility where convicted child predators were assigned to report.
$1.6M	Van Asdale v. Int’l Game Tech., 549 F. App’x 611, 614 (9th Cir. 2013)	Sarbanes-Oxley	Progenics Pharmaceuticals terminated Julio Perez after he raised concerns about the company issuing a significantly misleading press release about the progress of a new drug.
$1.5M	Eller v. State , No. 2017-6163 (Idaho 2017)	Idaho Protection of Public Employees Act	Idaho State Police retaliated against Brandon Eller, a detective in the police force, after he refused to go along with the police's explanation for a 2011 crash, in which a sheriff's deputy struck and killed a civilian. The jury awarded Eller $1.5 million in damages and $30,500 in lost wages.
$1.5M	Brig v. Port Auth. Trans Hudson, No. 12 CIV. 5371 RPP, 2014 WL 1318345 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2014)	Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA)	Jason Brig and John Buchala were retaliated against after reporting unsafe equipment and procedures, which almost resulted in both men being hit by a train. Instead of addressing the safety issues, the company charged both men with “unsafe work practices” and they lost a single day’s pay between them.
$1.4M	Cook v. Harrison Medical Center, No. 3:2013cv05986 – Document 88 (W.D. Wash. 2015)	False Claims Act Retaliation	Harrison Home Care terminated the former billing manager, Lori Cook, after reporting irregularities in Harrison’s billing, which could have Medicare fraud implications.
$1.2M	Baldwin v. City of Atl. City, No. A-2858-12T2, 2015 WL 5009746 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Aug. 19, 2015)	New Jersey wrongful termination	The City of Atlantic City terminated its solicitor, Kimberly Baldwin, after she raised concerns about whether a tax attorney’s no-bid contract conflicted with pay-to-play restrictions.
$1.2M	Townsend v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., JVR No. 1302080012, 2012 WL 7069840 (E.D.Ark. 2012)	False Claims Act Retaliation	Mike Townsend, a former pharmaceutical sales representative, was terminated by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. reporting a doctor to the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, for fraudulent Medicaid billing, and for participating in the investigation of the doctor.
$1.2M	Young v. Los Angeles City College,et al., 2011 WL 793028 (Cal.Superior 2011)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Selwyn Young was terminated by Los Angeles City College after reporting the misuse of funds to the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District.
$1M	Kelley vs. Merle Norman Cosmetics, 18 Trials Digest 16th 15, 2013 WL 1898806 (Cal.Super. 2013)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Merle Norman Cosmetics retaliated against Stephanie Kelley, Director of Marketing, after she reported sexual harassment against herself and other women to the company and to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
$1M	Farrell v. City of Los Angeles, JVR No. 1503020027, 2014 WL 7934105 (Cal.Super. 2015)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Police Officers and Supervisors, Loren Farell and Juan Baello were retaliated against by the City of Los Angeles after they reported what they reasonably believed to be criminal conduct or violations of state and/or federal statutes and regulations by detectives under their supervision.
$1M	Humann v. City of Edmonds, No. C13-101 MJP, 2014 WL 7505838 (W.D.Wash. 2014)	Washington wrongful termination	The City of Edmonds and its Mayor Michael Cooper terminated former Human Resources Director, Debi Humann, after she disclosed to Cooper that she was cooperating with an investigation into his executive assistant, Kimberly Cole, and her substantially high salary, questionable time-sheet and her unaccounted payroll expenses.
$1M	Barati v. Metro-N. R. Co., 939 F. Supp. 2d 153 (D. Conn. 2013)	Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA)	Metro-North Railroad retaliated against Andrew Barati after he reported that he broke his big toe when a jack failed and a rail tie fell on his foot. After reporting the injury, the railroad presented him with a notice of firing. He then reportedly received a three-month suspension before he was hired back at Metro-North.
$1M	Samuelson v. California Department of Mental Health, et. al., No. 26-57631 (N.D.Cal. Feb. 20, 2014).	California Whistleblower Protection Act	California Department of Mental Health terminated psychologist Melody Jo Samuelson after she raised concerns that the trial competency evaluation procedures did not comply with the applicable standard of care and violated statute.
$960,000	Feliciano v. New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, et al., No. D-101-cv-2010-02008 (D.N.M. Jan. 18, 2013)	New Mexico wrongful termination	New Mexico Public Relation Commission terminated Aaron Feliciano, a former compliance director, after voicing concerns over his supervisors’ hiring of political contributors to investigate insurance cases resulting in slow, costly and ineffective investigations.
$900,000	Perez v. City of Los Angeles, JVR No. 1506290047, 2014 WL 9966608 (Cal.Super. 2015)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Armando Perez, a Police Lieutenant, was retaliated against by the City of Los Angeles after he reporting the findings of an audit concerning his division’s inventory of firearms, which discovered possible violations of federal, state or local laws regarding the sale of firearms to officers and civilians for profit.
$850,000	United States ex rel. Jainniney v. Anmed Health, et al., 1:12-cv-2941 (N.D. Ga.)	False Claims Act Retaliation	Linda Jainniney, oncology manager at AnMed Health, was retaliated against after raising concerns that the hospital did not require that a radiation oncologist be present when supervising treatment of cancer patients. In addition to her retaliation claims, Ms. Jainniney received a $1.2 million award for exposing that the hospital defrauded the government by upcoding charges to Medicare and submitting fake service claims to Medicare.
$820,000	Weihua Huang v. Rector & Visitors of Univ. of Virginia, 896 F. Supp. 2d 524, 529 (W.D. Va. 2012)	False Claims Act Retaliation	Two University of Virginia administrators retaliated against Dr. Weihua Huang after he blew the whistle on purported misuse of a federal research grant.
$800,000	Curren v. Denver Health & Hospital Authority, JVR No. 1402240026, 2012 WL 10424143 (D.Colo. 2012)	False Claims Act Retaliation	JoAnne Curren, an internal auditor, was terminated by Denver Health & Hospitality Authority (DHHA) after she reported DHHA’s fraudulent billing reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.
$730,000	Keyzer v. Regents of Univ. of California, et al., No. 34-2010-0079869 (Cal.Superior 2014)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research terminated Janet Keyzer, a former UC Davis administrative nurse, after she blew the whistle on an unethical pain management research project on prison inmates.
$725,000	O’Haire v. City and County of San Francisco, JVR No. 1505200018, 2015 WL 2394121 (Cal.Super. 2015)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Kelly O’Haire, an Internal Affairs Attorney for the city and county’s police department, was terminated after pursuing a discipline case against the Police Chief Greg Suhr. The Police Chief had failed to immediately report a domestic violence incident involving his friend who was later charged with attempted murder.
$700,000	Scott v. Lee Cnty. Sch. Bd., 2004 WL 6022536 (M.D.Fla.)	Florida wrongful termination	Elbert Ernest Scott was constructively discharged after raising issues to the Lee County School Board about problems with fire alarms, sprinkler systems, asbestos remediation and toxic mold in a number of local schools.
$700,000	Jones v. SouthPeak Interactive Corp. of De., 986 F. Supp. 2d 680, 683-85 (E.D. Va. 2013)	Sarbanes-Oxley	SouthPeak terminated its CFO, Read Jones, after she disclosed accounting irregularities to the SEC.
$700,000	Casto v. Berkeley Medical Center, No. 12-C-638 (N.D.W. Va. 2012)	West Virginia wrongful termination	Wendy Casto was fired in retaliation for raising patient safety complaints with hospital management.
$613,000	Preston v. City of Oakland, JVR No. 1510220030, 2015 WL 6375782 (N.D.Cal. 2015)	California Whistleblower Protection Act	Daryelle Lawanna Preston was terminated by the City of Oakland after refusing to falsify a report or falsely testify about hiring practices, which if true, would have violated the city charter.
$600,000	In the Matter of Paradigm Capital Management, Inc. and Candace King Weir, File No. 3-15930 (June 16, 2014)	Dodd-Frank	Whistleblower was retaliated against after notifying the SEC about Paradigm Capital Management Inc. and its principal engaging in trades without effective client disclosure and consent. This tip led the SEC to initiate an action against Paradigm, resulting in total penalties over $2M.
$560,000	Flecker, III v.Statue Cruises L.L.C., JVR No. 1411110030, 2014 WL 5862082 (N.J.Super.L. 2014)	New Jersey wrongful termination	New Jersey wrongful termination Howard Flecker III acted as a class representative against Statute Cruises, L.L.C. regarding overtime pay. In retaliation, his schedule was changed and his hours were reduced from 40-50 hours per week to 35 hours.
$515,000	Mantilla v. Apgar Brothers Trucking Company, JVR No. 1505220042, 2014 WL 8879646 (N.J.Super.L. 2014)	New Jersey wrongful termination	Fernando Mantilla, a full-time truck driver, was terminated by Apgar Brothers Trucking Company after raising concerns about having to drive in excess of the maximum number of hours allowed by the United States Department of Transportation, and under the federal motor carrier safety regulations.
$455,000	Sergeant Duym v. Township of Millburn, JVR No. 1407220038, 2014 WL 3704210 (N.J.Super.L. 2014)	New Jersey wrongful termination	Sergeant Kenneth Duym, a firearms range master, was retaliated against after refusing to make an acceptation for a Police Captain who could no longer pass the duty weapon re-qualification test.
$250,000	Rhinehimer v. Bancorp Investment, Inc., 2013 WL 9235343 (E.D.Ky. Dec. 27, 2013)	Sarbanes-Oxley	A former financial planner at Bancorp Investments, Inc. was wrongfully terminated for disclosing trade unsuitability.

SOX Whistleblower Lawyer’s Guide for Corporate Whistleblowers

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The goal of the guide is to arm corporate whistleblowers with the knowledge to effectively combat whistleblower retaliation, avoid the pitfalls that can weaken a SOX whistleblower case, and formulate an effective strategy to obtain the maximum recovery.

Top-Rated Whistleblower Retaliation and Whistleblower Protection Attorneys

We have assembled a team of leading whistleblower lawyers to provide top-notch representation to whistleblowers.  Recently Washingtonian magazine named Jason Zuckerman and Eric Bachman top whistleblower lawyers.  Both Bachman and Zuckerman served in senior positions at the Office of Special Counsel, where they oversaw investigations of whistleblower retaliation claims and whistleblower disclosures, and enforced the Whistleblower Protection Act.  Let us put our unique experience and credentials to work for you:

• U.S. News and Best Lawyers® have named Zuckerman Law a Tier 1 firm in Litigation – Labor and Employment in the Washington DC metropolitan area
• Bachman and Zuckerman served on the Department of Labor’s Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the Secretary of Labor to improve OSHA’s administration of federal whistleblower protections.
• Matt Stock is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner and former KPMG external auditor.  As an auditor, Mr. Stock developed an expertise in financial statement analysis, internal controls testing and fraud recognition, and he uses his auditing experience to help whistleblowers investigate and disclose complex financial frauds to the government and obtain damages for retaliation.  He is lead author of SEC Whistleblower Program: Tips from SEC Whistleblower Attorneys to Maximize an SEC Whistleblower Award.
• Eric Bachman has substantial experience litigating precedent-setting employment cases.  His wins include a $100 million settlement in a disparate impact Title VII class action and a $16 million class action settlement against a major grocery chain.  Having served as Special Litigation Counsel in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and as lead or co-counsel in numerous jury trials, Bachman is ready to go the distance to obtain the relief that you deserve.
• Jason Zuckerman was recognized by Washingtonian magazine as a “Top Whistleblower Lawyer” in 2017, 2015, 2009, and 2007 selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America® in the category of employment law (2011-2017), and selected by his peers to be listed in SuperLawyers (2012 and 2015-2017) in the category of labor and employment law.  is rated 10 out of 10 by Avvo, based largely on client reviews, and rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell based on peer reviews.
• The firm has published extensively on whistleblower rights and protections, and regularly speaks nationwide at seminars and continuing legal education conferences.  We blog about new developments in whistleblower law at the Whistleblower Protection Blog.