Most folks who file lawsuits are not afforded the opportunity to submit comments to the media. Most times, the media is not interested in yet another employment lawsuit. But, most lawsuits are not filed against Ken Paxton. AG Paxton never hesitates to discuss and deflect his legal troubles. In a recent interview, AG Paxton claimed
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Paxton Appeals Denial of Motion to Dismiss
Ken Paxton fired five of his senior assistants in 2020. Four of those five then filed suit alleging whistle blowing. I wrote then that it appeared to be a classic case of whistle blowing. Whistle blowing occurs when a worker reports a violation of criminal law by the employer and then suffers reprisal from that…
Dr. Bright Forced to Resign
Another whistle blower has been forced out of his job in the Trump Administration. Dr. Rick Bright, a scientist at the National Institute of Health and a vaccine expert, has resigned. He submitted a whistle blower complaint several months ago. See my prior post here. His complaint was very detailed, extending over some 300…
Jury Awards $2.5 Million in Whistle Blower Case
A jury in Taylor County (Abilene), awarded $2.5 in a whistle blower lawsuit. Chad Carter, the former City Engineer for the City of Abilene, complained to the Texas Board of Engineers about the City of Abilene’s failure to follow the Texas Engineering Practice Act when it built several roads. The jury awarded some $100,000 in…
Pres. Trump Considers Firing Witnesses
We are seeing in real time what happens when an employee blows the whistle on his/her employer or when s/he complains about discrimination. Pres. Donald Trump has reportedly discussed firing the White House employees who have testified against him. He has discussed returning LTC Vindman to the Pentagon and firing Ambassador Bill Taylor after they…
Whistleblower Lawsuit Re SEC Regulations
In 2002, in reaction to the Enron scandal, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Act protects whistleblowers who report violations of securities regulations regarding accurate reporting. See National Whistleblower Center post regarding the act here. There was a whistleblower at Enron who did try to report the violations of securities regulations. And, here in…
Failure to Follow Own Policies Supports Discrimination
In Office of the Attorney General v. Rodriguez, a supervisor reported possible insurance fraud to her supervisor at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Laura Rodriguez believed she had a duty to report fraud, waste or abuse. She reported possible fraud concerning her her long-time friend and administrative assistant, Debbie Galindo. Ms.…
Whistleblower Must Risk Job to Protect the Public
The Texas Whistleblower Law has many limitations. One of those limits includes the requirement that the whistleblower must report the alleged violation of law to a law enforcement authority. For most laws, the local police force would be the appropriate authority. But, what about those many obscure white collar type crimes? We see one such…
Fourth Court Reverses Summary Judgment
Texas has a whistleblower statute. It applies only to government workers. In a recent whistleblower decision, the Fourth Court of Appeals here in San Antonio reversed a grant of summary judgment. In the case of Torres v. City of San Antonio, No. 04-15-00664 (Tex.App. San Antonio 12/7/2016), Lt. Torres worked for the City Fire…
Texas Whistleblower Protects State, Local Government Employees
Texas has limited whistleblower protection. Texas Government Code Sec. 554 protects public employees who report violations of law to the appropriate law enforcement agency. See statute. The Texas Whistleblower Act provides for a 90 days deadline in which to file suit. It also requires an employee to first file a grievance if the state…