Employees who feel that they have been wrongfully fired or let go from their position have the right to legal recourse. This is especially true when the reason for their termination is retaliatory. In many cases, employees who speak up about unfair or illegal practices are fired shortly afterward. By pursuing a wrongful termination suit against their employer, such employees are not only standing up for their own rights, their court victories also make a strong statement that such acts will not be tolerated by the California courts.
An example lies in a recently filed lawsuit by a former portfolio manager for Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO). The employee claims that he was fired after he approached management to share his concerns that multiple senior managers were conducting illegal activities. In particular, the employee had concerns that the managers were engaging in illegal insider trading, and that they were also manipulating the price information for the PIMCO Total Return, which is the world’s largest bond fund.
Those concerns were reported to a managing director for PIMCO and to compliance officials. Following that time, the employee’s pay was reduced and he reports being subjected to verbal abuse by other employees. He was fired from the company in March 2012.
This wrongful termination case may not make it to a California court. The employee dismissed the suit three days after it was filed. He is currently in negotiations with PIMCO attorneys to resolve the matter. There is no word from their legal department as to their plans to resolve the case. The eventual outcome could lead others in similar whistleblower positions to have the courage to report illegal or unethical activity.
Source: insidecounsel.com, “Ex-employee sues PIMCO over wrongful termination,” Cathleen Flahardy, March 14, 2013