All employees fear repercussions when they complain to their employers about what they believe to be the employer’s dangerous activities which they fear could lead to harm of other employees or to the public. This is particularly true for female executives who may not be taken as seriously when expressing their concerns as would be similarly-situated male executives due to inherent sex-based bias in our culture.
Recently, a female executive who was a policy official on a team for a major internet company, is an extreme example of a female executive having her concerns ignored by the employer. The female executive in her employment position was responsible for designing the company’s internet content moderation rules. She had growing concerns that the company’s practices were causing a public harm and could lead to grave future harm. She hesitated initially to express her concerns to her employer. But when she did come forward for many months to her employer with her concerns about how their content, the dissemination of misinformation, would lead to violence and death, she did not have her concerns taken seriously.
This female executive whistleblower recently testified to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, that her employer had violated its own content moderation rules, and intentionally carved out an exception to enforce those rules, because the content she was complaining about, generated too much publicity and business for the employer.
Courageous Testimony of Female Executive Whistleblower
She testified to the House Select Committee, as reported in the press, that when her employer failed to heed her concerns which she had brought to their attention for months, she feared for the safety of her family and herself if she went to a public body with her concerns.
She recently revealed the terror she experienced about coming forward publicly and how eventually her fear was overcome by her worry that political disinformation and extremism on social media pose an “imminent threat not just to American democracy, but to the societal fabric of our planet.”
She stated, “I realize that by being who I am and doing what I’m doing, I’m opening myself and my family to extreme risk,” …“It’s terrifying. This has been one of the most isolating times of my life.” This brave woman said, “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe the truth matters.”
She testified to the Committee that executives in the company had for months ignored her pleas to take stronger action. It was only after the January 6 riot, which left five people dead and hundreds more injured, that her employer finally closed down the account she had warned them about for many months.
This female executive whistleblower sat for numerous interviews with congressional investigators to openly discuss her employer’s actions. Full transcripts of her interviews are expected to be released later in the year.
Since she has now gone public with her knowledge of the employer’s activities, she now fears for her own safety and that of her family’s. She fears that her going public and speaking up about her role working inside the company on January 6 could lead to threats to her family, herself, or real-world harm.
A committee member references those concerns for her safety to explain why her voice had been distorted in the segment of her testimony played during a nationally televised hearing in July 2022- it was to protect her identity.
The committee member thanked her for her “courageous testimony” and “for answering the call of the Committee and your country.” He stated, “She has constantly had to say to herself: This is important for the world to know, but it can compromise my safety. And she continually makes the patriotic choice,.... the folks who do come forward and are willing to take these risks make such an impact for the rest of us.”
If you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit.
In many instances of discrimination or whistleblower retaliation, if you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of quitting, or think you will be fired, you should contact this office immediately to discuss your options in the safest way for you.
What You Can Do
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing persons who were whistleblower employees and was successful in recovering multiple six figure settlement moneys for them. If you are thinking of resigning, or think you will be fired, or have been fired, it is important that you consult with an attorney who is experienced in whistleblower law.
If You Complained about What You Reasonably Believed to Be Your Employer’s Illegal Practices and Your Employer Retaliated
Do not sit on your rights, or you may lose the right to file your claim. If you think you have been retaliated against for complaining about or reporting to your employer what you believe are your employer’s illegal practices, it is essential for you to contact an experienced, competent and successful whistleblower attorney who will be aggressive about enforcing your rights as soon as possible.
If you have been demoted, had your hours cut, terminated, harassed or been subjected to retaliation for complaining about, objecting to, refusing to participate in, or reporting what you believe is your employer’s illegal or improper conduct, you should contact this law firm as soon as possible. I am an experienced and compassionate employment attorney who will be aggressive about enforcing your rights.
If you are being subjected to such unlawful workplace retaliation, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation. I accept whistleblower and discrimination cases from all over New Jersey.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.