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Disability Discrimination, Harassment Lawsuit Filed Against Anthem Blue Cross

19-Year Veteran Employee of Anthem Blue Cross and Elevance Health Alleges that Healthcare Companies Fired Him During His Painful Recovery from Life-Threatening Heart Bypass Surgery

June 27, 2024 (BEVERLY HILLS, California) – Mr. Luis Ortiz, a long-term employee in the underwriting department of Anthem Blue Cross and Elevance Health, has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was discriminated against and harassed based on his medical condition and disability when the company fired him during his difficult recovery from open-heart surgery. Elevance Health, Inc., Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company, Blue Cross of California, the Elevance Health Companies of California, and several other related entities are named as defendants. (Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. 24STCV15952). The Los Angeles law firm of Helmer Friedman LLP announced the filing today.

Plaintiff Luis Ortiz, a California resident, alleges that on February 17, 2022, after having undergone a coronary angiogram, he was immediately admitted to the hospital and underwent triple bypass surgery. His post-surgery recovery, he alleges, was difficult and rife with complications, including debilitating pain in his chest and back and radiating throughout his entire body.

It is illegal to discriminate against employees who are recovering from surgery, and it is disappointing to see these allegations arise in the healthcare industry – the very industry that people rely on for their health and well-being.

Mr. Ortiz alleges that he dutifully kept his employers updated and consistently submitted medical authorization to support his leave of absence. In August 2022, his doctors authorized an extension of his leave for six months. But, in an email of October 7, 2022, he was told by his supervisor, Ms. Millet-Riley, that his leave was unapproved. According to the complaint, she threatened that he would be terminated for “abandoning his job” if he did not contact her within three business days. Mr. Ortiz alleges that he contacted her immediately on the same day and told her that he was not abandoning his job and intended to return to work as soon as his doctors authorized him to do so. Nonetheless, on October 10, 2022, the complaint asserts that the defendants fired Mr. Ortiz for “job abandonment,” an explanation that Mr. Ortiz contends is a pretext for discrimination and unlawful conduct.

Mr. Ortiz further alleges that, after being fired, he applied for a vacant position in underwriting with Anthem Blue Cross of California (for which he was eminently qualified) but was denied that position. Mr. Ortiz alleges that such conduct was discriminatory and retaliatory. Commenting on California law, Gregory D. Helmer of Helmer Friedman LLP said, “It is illegal to discriminate against employees who are recovering from surgery, and it is disappointing to see these allegations arise in the healthcare industry – the very industry that people rely on for their health and well-being.”

For more information, contact Gregory D Helmer, Helmer Friedman LLP, (310) 396-7714 x102, ghelmer@helmerfriedman.com.

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2024-10-24T11:13:57-08:00June 27th, 2024|Case Update, disability discrimination, Front Page News, Greg Helmer, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, wrongful termination|Comments Off on Disability Discrimination, Harassment Lawsuit Filed Against Anthem Blue Cross
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Former General Manager Files Suit to Demand Justice From Government Contractor

The former General Manager of MV Transportation’s San Leandro, California office filed a lawsuit today in Los Angeles County Superior Court against his prior employer, MV Transportation, and its Regional Vice President, Clarence Michael Stewman (Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC614873).  Plaintiff Aaron Gonzales’ lawsuit alleges, among other things, that MV Transportation and Mr. Stewman lured him away from his job in Texas to begin a new position in California based on false promises and representations, and that after he arrived in California, the defendants reneged on their obligation to pay Mr. Gonzales his quarterly bonus for meeting performance goals.

California Labor Code Section 970 prohibits an employer or individual from persuading a person to move residences for a job, “by means of knowingly false representations” regarding compensation or other matter.  Mr. Gonzales’ lawsuit alleges that when he complained about the underpayment of his bonus, the company fired him in retaliation for his complaints, which is unlawful under California law.

MV Transportation provides passenger transportation via fixed-route, paratransit (for people with disabilities) and school buses.  MV TRANSPORATION contracts primarily with government entities across the U.S. and Canada and provides consulting services world-wide.  MV TRANSPORTATION boasts annual revenues of $1,000,000,000.00 (one billion dollars) and operates nearly 10,000 transit vehicles and employs more than 16,500 transit professionals.

Mr. Gonzales is represented by Helmer Friedman, LLP a Culver City, California law firm that represents employees and other individuals who seeking to assert their rights.  Mr. Gonzales’ attorney, Andrew H. Friedman stated, “No private company, particularly ones that receive public money, ostensibly to carry out public services, should be permitted to flout employment laws and betray the trust that taxpayers have bestowed in them.”  Mr. Friedman continued, “Corporations headquartered in Texas sometimes mistakenly think that they can come to California and act like this is the ‘wild west.’  But even corporations headquartered in other states must follow California employment laws.”

For more information about Mr. Gonzales’ lawsuit, please contact Andrew Friedman or Lincoln Ellis at 310-396-7714.   Similarly, if you are a witness or have information that would be relevant to Mr. Gonzales’ claims please contact Mr. Friedman and/or Mr. Ellis.  A copy of Mr. Gonzales’ lawsuit can be found here.

2018-04-12T13:45:54-08:00March 24th, 2016|employment law, fair employment rights, Front Page News, Wage & Hour Violations, wrongful termination|Comments Off on Former General Manager Files Suit to Demand Justice From Government Contractor
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CFO Sues Solar Company, Alleges Financial Improprieties, Fraud, Misuse of EB-5 Foreign Investment Funds, Discrimination Against Non-Chinese Employees

June 24, 2015 –The former Chief Financial Officer of SolarMax Technology, Inc. – a renewable energy conglomerate located in Riverside, CA – has filed a lawsuit against the company and several of its directors and executive management team, including CEO David Hsu, Executive Vice President Ching Liu, and CFO Simon Yuan. (Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC585952). Among other things, plaintiff Michael McCaffrey alleges that he was fired for exposing fraud and financial improprieties in connection with approximately $60 million in capital SolarMax has raised from foreign nationals through the federal EB-5 Immigration and Visa Program (colloquially known as the “Visa for Sale” program). The EB-5 program provides wealthy foreign nationals (and their immediate families) with a two-year fast track to permanent U.S. residency in return for investing $1,000,000 or, in some cases, $500,000 in domestic businesses. The filing was announced today by Gregory D. Helmer, of the Los Angeles law firm of Helmer Friedman LLP.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. McCaffrey discovered that SolarMax, by engaging in a series of Enron-like “round trip” transactions with sham middleman entities, reported approximately $50,000,000 in phantom revenue on its 2011 and 2012 audited financial statements. In an effort to create a false impression of stronger financial performance and, thus, to attract investment capital, the suit alleges that SolarMax disseminated these artificially inflated figures to EB-5 investors (mostly in Taiwan and China) and others. Mr. McCaffrey also alleges that the inflated revenue figures were presented to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – part of U.S. Homeland Security – which regulates the EB-5 program.

“Most people do not realize that there is a program by which foreign citizens can literally purchase Green Cards if they have enough money and invest it in a qualifying business,” said Mr. Helmer. The program is notorious for potential abuse and exploitation. The USCIS and the SEC have cautioned potential investors “about fraudulent investment scams that exploit the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as EB-5.”

The program is notorious for potential abuse and exploitation. The USCIS and the SEC have cautioned potential investors “about fraudulent investment scams that exploit the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as EB-5.”

The lawsuit further alleges that Mr. McCaffrey exposed a series of other unlawful activities at SolarMax, including efforts to defraud the Social Security Administration by placing non-employee friends and relatives on the company’s payroll for the sole purpose of permitting them to earn Social Security credits. He further alleges that there existed a pattern of favoritism for the many employees of Chinese descent, and that he – and other employees who were not of Chinese descent – were subjected to unfair treatment and discrimination.

Commenting on the lawsuit, Mr. Helmer said, “Mr. McCaffrey, in his role as the CFO, was simply trying to ensure that SolarMax complied with the same set of rules and operated on the same playing field as all other law-abiding companies. Instead, he was fired after discovering a pattern of improprieties and trying to protect himself – and the company – by insisting that they be discontinued.”

For more information, please contact Gregory D. Helmer or Courtney Abrams at (310) 396-7714.

McCaffrey v. SolarMax Technology, Inc. Complaint

McCaffrey v. SolarMax Technology, Inc. Press Release

2018-04-12T13:45:54-08:00June 24th, 2015|fraud, Front Page News, national origin discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination|Comments Off on CFO Sues Solar Company, Alleges Financial Improprieties, Fraud, Misuse of EB-5 Foreign Investment Funds, Discrimination Against Non-Chinese Employees
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Court of Appeal Rules That Fannie Mae’s Arbitration Agreement Is Unlawful

Helmer Friedman LLP, announced today that the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, has held that Fannie Mae’s arbitration agreement is substantively unconscionable and unenforceable. In this lawsuit, Los Angeles-based Helmer  Friedman LLP and Washington, D.C-based co-counsel Bernabei & Wachtel, PLLC, represent Cecelia Carter with respect to her claims of wrongful termination, race discrimination and retaliation. See Carter v. Fannie Mae, No. 30-2013-00647896-CU-WT-CJC (Orange County Sup. Ct., filed May 3, 2013). According to the Complaint, Ms. Carter reported her concern that several Fannie Mae REO Foreclosure Specialists in the Irvine, California office had allegedly solicited illegal kickbacks from brokers in exchange for assigning Fannie Mae REO listings to those brokers. Shortly after, Fannie Mae initiated an investigation into Ms. Carter’s performance and then, on May 4, 2011, terminated her without explanation. On March 26, 2013, a federal grand jury charged Armando Granillo, one of the REO Foreclosure Specialists from the Irvine office, with three counts of “honest services” wire fraud for allegedly soliciting kickbacks from a real estate broker in Tucson, Arizona, in exchange for providing him with foreclosed properties to sell on behalf of Fannie Mae. On August 4, 2014, Mr. Granillo was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for his role in the kickback scheme. For more information about Mr. Granillo’s conviction, see http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-fannie-kickbacks-sentencing-20140804-story.html

After Ms. Carter filed her Complaint, Fannie Mae moved to compel arbitration. The Superior Court denied Fannie Mae’s motion, holding that defendant failed to satisfy its burden of establishing that Ms. Carter and Fannie Mae entered into an arbitration agreement. The Superior Court found that, although the Offer Letter referenced the arbitration policy, Fannie Mae did not include the arbitration agreement with its Offer Letter and did not tell her where to find it; Fannie Mae then revoked the Offer letter; and Fannie Mae’s subsequent offer of employment did not contain or reference an arbitration provision. Fannie Mae appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three.

The Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s decision on other grounds, holding that Fannie Mae’s arbitration agreement was substantively unconscionable because it was inherently one-sided in that it exempted the types of claims likely to be filed by Fannie Mae, but included the types of claims likely to be filed by the employee. See Carter v. Fannie Mae, No. G049112, 2014 WL 4212622 (Cal. App. 4th Dist. Aug. 26, 2014). The arbitration agreement covered “all” claims an employee might make involving a legally protected right relating directly or indirectly to the employee’s employment, but exempted “any claim made in connection with workers’ compensation benefits, unemployment compensation benefits, or under any of Fannie Mae’s employee welfare benefits, ERISA, or pension plans, or to any claim of unfair competition, disclosure of trade secrets, or breach of trust or fiduciary duty.” During oral argument, Fannie Mae’s counsel emphasized the aspects of the agreement it claimed were beneficial to the employee. However, the Court of Appeal held that “

[i]t makes no difference that, arguably, the dispute resolution policy isn’t entirely one-sided” and found that the allegedly positive aspects of the agreement do not “save the agreement as a whole when it contains other provisions that have been clearly held to be unconscionable in the case law.”

“We are very pleased that the Court of Appeal rejected Fannie Mae’s attempt to force Ms. Carter into arbitration,” commented Ms. Loveless. “For years, employers have attempted to destroy one of our Country’s greatest institution – the jury trial – by forcing employees and consumers into secret tribunals that favor large corporations over individuals. The founders of our Country enshrined the right to a jury trial in our Constitution and corporations should not be allowed to take that right away.” The Court of Appeal’s decision may also significantly affect the ability of other Fannie Mae employees to bring their claims in court, rather than be forced into arbitration.

For a PDF copy of the Court of Appeal decision, click here.

For additional information or to report unlawful conduct on the part of Fannie Mae, contact:

Andrew H. Friedman

2022-06-08T10:23:02-08:00September 3rd, 2014|Andrew Friedman, Case Update, discrimination, Front Page News, race discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination|Comments Off on Court of Appeal Rules That Fannie Mae’s Arbitration Agreement Is Unlawful
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Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel – Helmer Friedman LLP’s Discrimination Lawsuit Chivas USA

2018-04-12T13:45:59-08:00July 23rd, 2013|discrimination, Front Page News, race discrimination, wrongful termination|Comments Off on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel – Helmer Friedman LLP’s Discrimination Lawsuit Chivas USA
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Former Youth Coaches Accuse Chivas USA of Discrimination

Greg Helmer, Helmer Friedman LLP, discusses discrimination lawsuit filed against Chivas USA on NBC News.

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2018-04-12T13:45:59-08:00May 29th, 2013|Front Page News, race discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination|Comments Off on Former Youth Coaches Accuse Chivas USA of Discrimination
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