Did Ambulnz Fail to Stock Necessary Life-Saving Equipment for EMTs?

In recent news, a former employee filed a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging that DocGo’s Ambulnz failed to provide essential life-saving equipment for their EMTs.

The Case: Chase v. Ambulnz

The Court: Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

The Case No.: 19STCV36675

The Plaintiff: Chase v. Ambulnz

The plaintiff in the case, Chase, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleged that DocGo’s Ambulnz did not stock necessary life-saving EMT equipment and tools, frequently failed inspections by the County, and failed to reimburse employees for necessary business expenses when they purchased the necessary life-saving equipment and tools using their personal funds.

The Defendant: Chase v. Ambulnz

The defendant in the case, Ambulnz, has approximately 3,500 field-based paramedics and EMTs offering patients a full suite of Mobile Health home medical services. According to the plaintiffs in the case, DocGo’s Ambulnz violated labor law; the company faces claims of wrongful termination.

What is Wrongful Termination?

Wrongful termination in California refers to the unlawful firing of an employee in violation of state or federal laws. When employees are terminated for reasons such as discrimination, retaliation, or exercising their legal rights, they can seek protection from employment law and hold California employers responsible by pursuing legal action through litigation or negotiation. If a California employer wrongfully terminates an employee, they may be liable for damages that could include back pay, compensation for emotional distress, or reinstatement.

The Case: Chase v. Ambulnz

In the case Chase v. Ambulnz, the plaintiff claims Ambulnz engaged in multiple labor law violations, including failing to pay all wages earned, minimum wage violations, failing to pay overtime wages, failing to pay full wages upon termination, failure to provide required meal and rest breaks, failure to provide accurate, itemized wage statements, failure to reimburse workers for necessary work expenses, workplace retaliation, etc.

If you have questions about filing a California wrongful termination lawsuit, please contact Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.

Former Blue Origin’s Program Manager Claims Wrongful Termination

A wrongful termination lawsuit alleges Blue Origin LLC violated several labor codes, and the plaintiff demanded a jury trial.

The Case: Craig Stoker v. Blue Origin LLC

The Court: Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles Central District

The Case No.: 23STCV28816

The Plaintiff: Stoker v. Blue Origin LLC

The plaintiff in the case, Craig Stoker, is the former program manager of Blue Origin's BE-4 rocket engines and primarily worked out of the company's Woodland Hills, California location. Stoker filed a wrongful termination complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court, including a detailed narrative about Stoker's efforts (over seven months) to escalate concerns about safety and a hostile work environment at Blue Origin.

The Defendant: Stoker v. Blue Origin LLC

The defendant in the case, Blue Origin LLC, allegedly "brushed off" multiple complaints regarding CEO Bob Smith's explosive response to employees when issues frequently led to employees violating safety protocol to meet unreasonable expectations and impossible deadlines. According to court documents, Blue Origin was working on fulfilling a contract with ULA that required communicating any issues that could impact rocket engine delivery a year in advance. While Stoker wanted to communicate information regarding a probable delay to ULA, Smith allegedly instructed him not to do so. After concluding an internal investigation, Blue Origin decided that Smith did not violate company policies or create a hostile work environment. Stoker objected. He also claims in the lawsuit that he later found out no one from the engine program was interviewed as part of the internal investigation. Stoker was terminated seven months after initially raising his safety concerns.

The Case: Stoker v. Blue Origin LLC

In the case Stoker v. Blue Origin LLC, Stoker claims he was wrongfully terminated in response to his complaints regarding the company's CEO creating a hostile work environment that caused employees to disregard safety measures to meet unreasonable deadlines on projects. While the company states their internal investigation found that Smith did not violate company policy or create a hostile work environment, Blue Origin announced Smith was stepping down from his role as CEO in September (after a tenure of close to six years). His tenure was marked by numerous successes, including growing the team from less than 1,000 people to over 12,000 and landing multiple high-profile and high-value contracts with NASA. However, his tenure was also not without serious controversy. In addition to Stoker's claims, Smith faced allegations of supporting a culture of sexism among senior executives at the company.

If you have questions about filing a California wrongful termination lawsuit, don't hesitate to contact Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.

Gina Carano Sues Disney for Wrongful Termination

In recent news, Gina Carano filed a wrongful termination lawsuit after being fired from Disney’s The Mandalorian. In an interesting twist, problematic social media posts instigated her termination, but another social media post led to her ability to seek resolution through the legal system.

The Case: Gina Carano v. The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Huckleberry Industries (US) Inc.

The Court: US District Court for the Central District of California

The Case No.: S2:2024cv01009

The Plaintiff: Carano v. The Walt Disney Company

The plaintiff in the case, Gina Carano, is a former Disney+ “The Mandalorian” actor. Carano played the former Rebellion soldier Cara Dune during two seasons. After Carano shared problematic social media posts in 2021, Lucasfilm announced they no longer employed Carano. In response to the abrupt dismissal, Carano filed a wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuit in California federal court seeking more than $75,000 in compensatory damages and reinstatement as Dune in “The Mandalorian” series. Carano seeks a jury trial. Elon Musk funds Carano’s wrongful termination lawsuit through X (formerly known as Twitter).

The Defendants: Carano v. The Walt Disney Company

The defendants in the case, the Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, and Huckleberry Industries (US) Inc., took action against Carano after a February 2021 Instagram post (since deleted) making an implied comparison between being a conservative in the modern setting to being Jewish during the Holocaust. Before this, she was called out for other right-wing social media posts stating opinions about the 2020 presidential election, mask requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic, and opinions regarding other people’s declared pronouns that incited critics to declare her racist or transphobic and demanding that Disney/Lucasfilm fire her from “The Mandalorian.”

The Case: Carano v. The Walt Disney Company

While problematic social media posts instigated the original incident, a different type of social media post led to the filing of Carano v. The Walt Disney Company. Legal counsel for X reached out to Carano after she responded to one of Elon Musk’s posts offering to help individuals who lost their jobs based on activity on the social media platform. X hired legal counsel to look into Carano’s story and assist her in seeking an appropriate resolution. X states they support Carano’s suit as a sign of their commitment to free speech.

If you have questions about how to file a California wrongful termination lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw L.L.P. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.

Former Pfizer Director Alleged Wrongful Termination

A former Pfizer Analytics Director claims Pfizer fired him after he attempted to expose the company’s FCPA violations.

The Case: Frank Han v. Pfizer

The Court: Superior Court of State of California, County of San Francisco

The Case No.: 4:23-cv-03908-DMR

The Plaintiff: Frank Han v. Pfizer

The plaintiff in the case, Frank Han, a former director of global compliance analytics at Pfizer, filed a whistleblower suit claiming he was fired from his position with the drugmaker because he tried to expose FCPA violations at the company. According to Han, he raised compliance concerns and possible Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to an immediate supervisor (along with additional colleagues) at Pfizer during a November 2021 virtual meeting. Before the meeting, Han received a higher-than-perfect score on his performance review. During his next performance review, he received a reduced score, and his supervisor advised him his performance wasn’t aiding the desired results. The meeting escalated, and his supervisor allegedly demanded Han quit. After Han’s request to report to a different supervisor was denied, he received another performance review with an even lower score. Running the complaints up the official chain at Pfizer resulted in an investigation. However, the result of the investigation was that Pfizer decided no further action was necessary. A month later, Han was fired.

The Defendant: Frank Han v. Pfizer

The defendant in the case, Pfizer, is a pharmaceutical giant. During Han’s work from 2019 to 2021, he claims he discovered evidence of payments of $168 million to potentially influential government officials (PIGOs) in China. The ex-Pfizer compliance officer attempted to address the possible violations indicated, but the following chain of events ended in his firing and a wrongful termination and whistleblower retaliation lawsuit.

The Case: Frank Han v. Pfizer

In Frank Han v. Pfizer, the plaintiff originally filed his wrongful termination lawsuit in California state court. However, it was later moved to federal court. The lawsuit seeks lost wages, mental and emotional distress, legal fees, injunctive and declaratory relief, and interest, among other damages.

If you have questions about how to file a wrongful termination lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.

Morgan Stanley Faces Wrongful Termination and Reverse Discrimination Claims

In recent news, a former Morgan Stanley executive claims wrongful termination and reverse discrimination.

The Case: Kevin Meyersburg v. Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC

The Court: United States District Court Southern District of New York

The Case No.: 1:23-cv-07638

The Plaintiff: Kevin Meyersburg v. Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC

The plaintiff in the case, Meyersburg, was Morgan Stanley’s Managing Director and Head of Executive Service. During his time in the position, Meyersburg accumulated many accomplishments and successes for the company, including massive growth, productivity, and profitability in his department when other departments struggled to make a profit. In April 2023, Morgan Stanley started announcing a series of layoffs due to the Firm’s financial underperformance. Most layoffs were completed by combining and collapsing teams performing similar functions. Meyersburg’s Executive Services Team didn’t see many adjustments or layoffs due to their excessive success and productivity. However, despite his documented strong performance and the success of the Executive Services team while under his leadership, on May 11, 2023, Morgan Stanley told Meyersburg he was being terminated from his position. The company replaced him with a Black female with significantly less experience and qualifications. The company provided no performance or work-related deficiency for Meyersburg’s termination. Instead, his termination was allegedly the Firm’s attempt to comply with its Diversity and Inclusion objectives, which would mean the Firm illegally fired Meyersburg because of his sex, race, and/or color.

The Defendant: Kevin Meyersburg v. Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC

The defendant in the case, Morgan Stanley, did not make a public statement regarding the allegations.

The Case: Kevin Meyersburg v. Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC

The case is one of many that target corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and practices that allege reverse discrimination. The influx of legal actions targeting corporate diversity and inclusion practices seems inspired by the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions in June. However, even before the decision to strike down affirmative action in the college admissions process, reverse discrimination cases increased as internal concerns around DEI increased. Recent cases targeting corporate diversity policies supporting reverse discrimination attempt to translate the court’s race-blind stance toward college admissions to the workplace.

If you have questions about how to file a California wrongful termination lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw L.L.P. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.

Former Starbucks Employee Awarded $25.6 Million in Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

In recent news, a former Starbucks employee was awarded $25.6 million for wrongful termination claims.

The Case: Phillips v. Starbucks Corp.

The Court: United States District Court, D. New Jersey

The Case No.: 19-19432

The Plaintiff: Phillips v. Starbucks Corp.

The plaintiff in the case, Shannon Phillips, is a former Starbucks regional manager. In her wrongful termination lawsuit, Phillips claims Starbucks fired her because she's white. Phillips filed her California wrongful termination lawsuit in 2019, claiming she was being designated the scapegoat in Starbucks's effort at damage control following an incident caught on video that went viral online. The viral video showed two black men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, during their arrest at a Philadelphia Starbucks coffee shop. The incident's exposure sparked so much outrage across the country that Starbucks temporarily closed its shops to provide anti-bias training for employees.

The History of the Case: Phillips v. Starbucks Corp.

The case concerns an incident at a Starbucks in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia in April 2018. Two black men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, went to Starbucks. According to Nelson, he asked to use the restroom and was told it was for paying customers only. A Starbucks employee approached the two men's table and asked if they wanted to order. According to Robinson, he replied that they were okay and waiting for a business meeting. A manager then called 911, stating that there were "two gentlemen ... refusing to make a purchase or leave." Neither man heard the manager tell them to leave. The incident resulted in an eight-minute video of the arrest as three police officers reported to the scene to question the two men before handcuffing them and leading them out of Starbucks. Nationwide outrage led to protests and a public relations crisis for Starbucks. The chief executive issued a public apology and closed stores nationwide to provide anti-bias training for all 175,000 employees across the U.S.

The Repercussions: Phillips v. Starbucks Corp.

Part of the terms of the settlement Starbucks reached with Nelson and Robinson included a pledge to continue taking actions to address discriminatory incidents. In her complaint, Phillips noted that no corrective action was taken against the manager of the Rittenhouse Starbucks, who is black, and who promoted the store manager who made the 911 call that led to the arrest. A few weeks after the arrest, Phillips was told to suspend a white manager at one of the chain's Philadelphia stores due to accusations of discrimination. Phillips fought the allegations because she claimed the allegations were "factually untrue." According to Phillips, she was fired shortly after objecting to the white manager's suspension.

The Defendant: Phillips v. Starbucks Corp.

In the complaint, Phillips states that her race was a "motivating and/or determinative factor" in her termination. Still, the defendant in the case, Starbucks Corp., denies firing Phillips because of her race.

The Case: Phillips v. Starbucks Corp.

After six days at trial, a federal jury in New Jersey unanimously agreed to award Phillips $25 million in punitive damages and $600,000 in compensatory damages. Phillips is also seeking damages for back and future pay.

If you have questions about how to file a wrongful termination lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.

Compass Group Faces Discrimination and Wrongful Termination Allegations

In recent news, Compass Group, a multinational corporation, faces discrimination and wrongful termination allegations after a former employee claims she was fired for refusing to participate in a “diversity” program she felt blatantly discriminated based on race and gender.

The Case: Courtney J. Rogers v. Compass Group USA, Inc., et al.

The Court: U.S. District Court Southern District of California

The Case No.: 23CV1347 KSC

The Plaintiff: Courtney J. Rogers v. Compass Group USA, Inc.

The plaintiff in the case, Courtney Rogers, is a former Internal Mobility Team recruiter for Compass Group USA. While Rogers was working for the company’s human resources department in 2022, the company introduced “Operation Equity,” a new “diversity” program in which only “women and people of color” were invited to participate. The program was promoted as offering special training and mentorship alongside guaranteed promotion. Rogers expressed her concerns that the “diversity” program was openly discriminating against white males, denying them employment opportunities and benefits made available by Compass to women and people of color through the program. The initiative directly conflicted with Rogers’ religious belief that all people, regardless of race or gender, are created equal, so she requested accommodation by assigning her to a different project. A senior HR officer assured her there would be no retaliation against her for expressing her beliefs, and she could be assigned different responsibilities as accommodation. However, within two weeks, Rogers was fired.

The Defendant: Courtney J. Rogers v. Compass Group USA, Inc.

The defendant in the case, Compass Group USA, Inc., is one of the largest employers in the world and the parent company of many recognizable names like Bon Appétit Restaurant Management, Wolfgang Puck Catering, TouchPoint, etc.

The Case: Courtney J. Rogers v. Compass Group USA, Inc.

In the case Courtney J. Rogers v. Compass Group USA, Inc., the plaintiff demands a jury trial and seeks relief from “Religious Creed Discrimination” (a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act), and wrongful termination in violation of public policy. The lawsuit seeks financial compensatory damages resulting from Compass’ discriminatory and retaliatory conduct, as well as asking the court to require Compass’s senior human resources management to participate in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Fair Treatment training, classes, and oversight to prevent a repeat of retaliation against other employees in the future.

If you have questions about how to file a California workplace discrimination lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.