I’m a plaintiff in a California lawsuit where I was am employee from 2009 to 2018, a remote worker from 2014 to 2019, and a misclassified 1099 “contractor” from 2018 to 2019.
Im currently looking down the barrel of what’s called a California Civil Code 998. What this is is a provision where the defendant gets to offer an settlement and if you don’t get more than the settlement amount in an award, you lose the case.
In my case the settlement is $151,000. Sounds good, right?
Except they’ve ruined my career for being a Medicare fraud whistleblower. I have not had a job since 2019, despite over 3000 applications and hundreds of interviews on 3 continents. I’m highly qualified and have good interviews, second and up to 7 follow ups. But then they call this company to verify employment – and they say I didn’t work there and that I don’t get along with others.
This 998 of theirs allows them to keep doing it, in exchange for a measly payout that ignores the fact that I had to sell my house, I had to move in with my parents who live overseas (they were US immigrants who returned home to retire), and I cant even get an entry level job now because I’m a liar with a 10 year “gap” in experience.
I’ve asked them to remedy this and at least stop lying about me so I can find work.
If they don’t I have decided to do a full information dump on reddit and invite media contacts.
I have nothing left, so nothing to lose.
So who’s keen on seeing the raw details of what happens to whistleblowers in the US?