Facts

UMA Enterprises, Inc., is a California company that was founded by two Indian American men. Jalandhar Bidye, also an Indian American, worked as a transportation manager for UMA. Eventually, UMA Enterprises was purchased by an investment group, and a new CEO was brought in.

In November 2017, Bidye filed a complaint with the new president and investors of UMA Enterprises alleging that they singled out Indian employees for termination because he had noticed long-term Indian employees were retiring, quitting, or being fired. In January 2018, he filed another complaint with human resources about male Indian employees being discriminated against.

In April and May of 2018, Bidye complained about the company attempting to consolidate two warehouses. He claimed there were safety issues, including lack of space, stacking product too high, and a senior manager riding a pallet jack for fun. He also reported potential illegal activity related to missing inventory and reports to the Internal Revenue Service. Bidye made the May complaint anonymously and in Spanish using a translation, but he was fired four days later.

Bidye subsequently sued UMA Enterprises.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that the defendant fired him in retaliation for his complaints regarding the warehouse safety issues, possible illegal activity, and discrimination; that the defendant discriminated against him because of his race or national origin; that he was discriminated against because of his age; and that he was discriminated against because of his religion.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied any wrongdoing and all of the plaintiff's material allegations. Defendant specifically contended that there had been no evidence of discrimination after an HR investigation. Defendant further contended that the plaintiff had been fired because he was a poor performer, did not get along well with others, and was not adapting and growing with new management.

Result

A jury found in favor of Bidye for his retaliation and wrongful termination claims, and it awarded him $2,106,949 for past and future lost wages and benefits.