Halunen Law was recently featured in an article, publish in Bloomberg Businessweek, Fortune, and Money that recognizes them for some of their outstanding work concerning different whistleblower retaliation and government fraud cases. Read the full article: Righting Corporate Wrongs: One Law Firm’s Fight for Justice
Whistleblower Protection
The whistleblower case filed on behalf of Paul Olson, a high level employee of Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) has settled for $295,000. Olson had alleged that the DHS had ostracized him and removed all meaningful responsibilities from his position after he refused his managers’ demands to violate a statute to give a financial benefit to Fairview University Medical Center. The terms of the settlement include compensation for wage damages and emotional distress. View the Olson v. DHS Settlement Agreement.
Weber was fired after bringing evidence to members of the executive leadership at Globe about illegal and deceptive claims being made by the school in its student recruitment advertising materials.
A Minnesota district court judge ruled that the for-profit Globe University must pay more than $500,000 in attorneys’ fees and related costs to Heidi Weber and her legal team, who brought a successful whistleblower lawsuit against the school.
Add in the $395,000 in damages awarded Weber by the jury when the case went to trial August 2013, plus additional pre-judgment interest charges in excess of $70,000, and the total amount due Weber and her law firm, Halunen Law, from Globe University now approaches $1 million.
In the past several years For-Profit Colleges and Universities have been under intense scrutiny by both state and federal agencies for claims that they mislead prospective students about placement rates, starting salaries, and credit transfer. Students often obtain federally insured student loans and grants to attend these schools. In fact, the Department of Education has estimated that about 90% of students obtain some form of student aid to attend For-Profit schools- a significantly higher percentage than those who attend public and private post-secondary institutions. However, after graduation, students from For-Profit schools are much more likely to default on their loans because they are unable to secure employment as readily as their peers who graduate from public and private universities and colleges.
Click link to view video: Whistleblowers Help Curb Corporate Fraud
“Pratfalls, Cat’s Paws, and Fact Questions” was the title of a July 16, 2013 Webcast in which H&A attorney Susan Coler was a presenter. The broadcast provided employment attorneys’ with updated information about retaliation statutes and legal theories to maximize success when litigating employment claims.
What is a Cat’s Paw? It’s a theory where a biased lower level manager or co-worker influences a higher-level manager to retaliate against an employee. It has been effectively used to achieve success for employees who have experienced retaliation in the workplace because of who they are or because they blew the whistle on illegal conduct. The webcast also discussed recent developments in litigating Workers’ Compensation Act retaliation claims, including threat of termination as a claim and entitlement to a jury trial.
On April 22, 2013, Governor Dayton signed HF 290 into law, which modified Minnesota’s False Claims Act found at Minn. Stat. § 15C. The bill primarily changed the statute so that it would reward and facilitate False Claims Act cases at least as effectively as the federal law. By making these changes Minnesota should be eligible to receive a 10% higher recovery from Medicaid fraud cases involving Minnesota.
Greater protections for Minnesota whistleblowers became a reality on May 24, 2013, when Governor Dayton signed HF542, which enhanced Minnesota’s Whistleblower Act, Minn. Stat. §181.932.
The Act prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who report violations of statutes or regulations, or refuse to engage in conduct that violates the law. The legislative changes increase whistleblower protection in several ways:
Ross Brindle, host of the Legal Journal on Business 1570, interviewed Halunen attorney Susan Coler about Whistleblowers and the False Claims Act (FCA). Ms. Coler discussed on the air how the FCA works, what types of fraud typically fall under the act, what people need to know if they are aware of fraud against the government, and the monetary incentives available for those people who alert the government to fraud. These claims are also called qui tam claims. Please click on Susan’s photo at left to listen to the radio broadcast.
A truck driver is suing his former employer, saying that DMS Express refused to allow him a reasonable accommodation so that he could treat his diabetes and anxiety properly, and that he was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for voicing his concerns.
The dispute arose when the driver asked his employer if he could take a short break and drive about four miles to a nearby pharmacy to fill a prescription before he started a long drive across several states. He says he made the request two days in advance and that it was denied by supervisors who insisted that he get on the road as quickly as possible. When the driver offered an alternative time that he might take a break to pick up medications he was denied again.