California State Bar Faces $15 Million Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
Los Angeles, CA: The California State Bar faces a $15 million wrongful termination lawsuit alleging a former administrative assistant was fired for reporting ethical violations. Sonja Oehler filed the California wrongful termination suit, claiming she was fired because she knew about incompetence on the part of State Bar leadership and further claiming that other employees were also wrongfully fired from their jobs.
According to Courthouse News Service (2/19/16), Oehler alleges she was fired not for a lack of skill or ability to carry out her job duties, but because she was aware of ethical issues within the California State Bar.
Among Oehler’s complaints about the State Bar are that money was mismanaged - including sending a director to San Francisco for a three-hour hearing but paying for four nights at the Palace Hotel, and reimbursing a director $30,000 in unapproved costs. Oehler also alleges the former chief prosecutor moved discipline cases to a deferred list and then back to active status to lessen the appearance of a backlog of cases.
Furthermore, Oehler claims the State Bar ignored hundreds of complaints of fraud filed by Mexican workers who were scammed of their money while seeking American citizenship. And the lawsuit claims that Jayne Kim, former chief prosecutor, faced ethics complaints about her practices but dismissed them instead of having them sent to a third party.
Former executive Joseph Dunn has also filed a lawsuit against the California State Bar, alleging he was fired when he exposed massive cover-ups within the organization.
The California State Bar says it denies the allegations and will defend itself. Oehler seeks $10 million in damages from wrongful termination and $5 million for punitive damages.
Although California is an at-will employment state - meaning an employer can end the working relationship at any time for any reason - there are circumstances in which an employee can file a wrongful termination lawsuit. If an employee has an agreement setting out the conditions under which employment can be terminated, any termination that violates the agreement could be considered wrongful. Also, employers cannot fire an employee for reasons that violate public policy or for reasons that violate statutory law - such as discriminatory reasons.
Employees who feel their employment termination violates California state laws may be able to file a lawsuit to recover lost wages and be reinstated to their job.
The lawsuit is Oehler v. The State Bar of California et al., case number BC610699.
According to Courthouse News Service (2/19/16), Oehler alleges she was fired not for a lack of skill or ability to carry out her job duties, but because she was aware of ethical issues within the California State Bar.
Among Oehler’s complaints about the State Bar are that money was mismanaged - including sending a director to San Francisco for a three-hour hearing but paying for four nights at the Palace Hotel, and reimbursing a director $30,000 in unapproved costs. Oehler also alleges the former chief prosecutor moved discipline cases to a deferred list and then back to active status to lessen the appearance of a backlog of cases.
Furthermore, Oehler claims the State Bar ignored hundreds of complaints of fraud filed by Mexican workers who were scammed of their money while seeking American citizenship. And the lawsuit claims that Jayne Kim, former chief prosecutor, faced ethics complaints about her practices but dismissed them instead of having them sent to a third party.
Former executive Joseph Dunn has also filed a lawsuit against the California State Bar, alleging he was fired when he exposed massive cover-ups within the organization.
The California State Bar says it denies the allegations and will defend itself. Oehler seeks $10 million in damages from wrongful termination and $5 million for punitive damages.
Although California is an at-will employment state - meaning an employer can end the working relationship at any time for any reason - there are circumstances in which an employee can file a wrongful termination lawsuit. If an employee has an agreement setting out the conditions under which employment can be terminated, any termination that violates the agreement could be considered wrongful. Also, employers cannot fire an employee for reasons that violate public policy or for reasons that violate statutory law - such as discriminatory reasons.
Employees who feel their employment termination violates California state laws may be able to file a lawsuit to recover lost wages and be reinstated to their job.
The lawsuit is Oehler v. The State Bar of California et al., case number BC610699.
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