Where a plaintiff who was fired by the defendant bank has alleged wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, that claim must be dismissed without prejudice because of the plaintiff’s failure to identify a public-safety-oriented regulation that she reasonably believed mandated her complaints about the bank’s allegedly inadequate security.
“Plaintiff Djanine da Viega asserts ten claims against Defendants, her former employer, Santander Bank (‘Santander’), and three of its agents, Jose Gomez (‘Gomez’), Jose Diaz (‘Diaz’), and Kim Lopez (‘Lopez’), arising out of her employment and termination. …
“Contrary to Plaintiffs assertion, this case does not fall within the recognized public policy exception protecting employees from termination based on ‘refusing to do that which the law forbids,’ since there is no law prohibiting lying about, or suppressing, information regarding the inadequate security of one’s employer. Accordingly, in construing the pleading in Plaintiffs favor, the Court understands her to contend that Santander terminating her in retaliation for her internal whistleblowing about its security deficiencies constitutes one of the ‘exceptional cases’ permitting redress for employees discharged for performing important-but not legally mandated-public deeds.
“Some such ‘exceptional cases’ involve employees terminated for reporting, or refusing to engage in, conduct which they reasonably believe violates regulations concerning public safety. … Notably, these...
A former Connecticut nurse faces federal charges for allegedly defrauding the Medicaid program, submitting more than 15,000 claims and receiving payments totaling more than $1.3 million. Marisol R...