Vacaville Man Charges Retaliation By Former Employer

When you bring problems that occur in the workplace to your employer’s attention, you expect that your concerns will be heard and acknowledged. Unfortunately, as one man from Vacaville discovered, that is not always the case. Retaliation for voicing workplace issues is a serious problem in California and across the nation.

The Vacaville man is a former employee of the Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau. He is alleging that he was wrongfully terminated after complaining about inappropriate expenditures made by his boss. The former employee also alleges that he was the target of harassment in the workplace. He is seeking to be compensated for his pain and suffering.

In his complaint, he states that his former boss withdrew $200 by claiming the expense for petty cash and submitted $260 in expenses for Christmas decorations that were never provided. He also alleges that his former boss used cash from the visitor’s bureau to pay a personal electricity bill. Moreover, the complaint states that the former president of the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce made a remark that may have made the former employee’s boss suspicious. There are 25 unnamed individuals listed as defendants in the complaint along with the boss of the former employee and the visitor’s bureau.

A similar situation happened two years ago with another former employee of the Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau. In that case, it seems the former employee also may also have been fired in retaliation for bringing up improper expenditures. However, the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Unfortunately, this kind of case is all too common in California. Worse, retaliation by employers leads to a hostile work environment. These actions can cause other people to fear coming forward with complaints about sexual harassment and other workplace issues. When an employee is wrongfully terminated, he or she deserves full compensation not only for the termination itself, but also for the emotional suffering endured. An experienced attorney in workplace harassment issues may be able to help a victim to collect his or her deserved compensation.

Source: The Reporter, “Former worker suing Vacaville Conference & Visitors Bureau,” Ryan Chalk, Sept. 14, 2011