BAILEY v. ALPHA TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED ABC 10 (2019)

MEMORANDUM **

Appellant, Yvette Bailey, sued defendants for wrongful termination under Washington law. The district court granted judgment as a matter of law in favor of defendants, and appellant appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.¹

Bailey alleges that she was terminated from her job as a senior international buyer in retaliation for whistleblowing about tax fraud concerns. Defendants argued that plaintiff was terminated because of an incident that occurred on a business trip. At the conclusion of plaintiff’s evidence at trial, the district court granted judgment as a matter of law on multiple grounds.

In Thompson v. St. Regis Paper Co., 102 Wash.2d 219, 685 P.2d 1081, 1088 (1984), Washington “recognize[d] a cause of action in tort for wrongful discharge if the discharge of the employee contravenes a clear mandate of public policy.” Id. at 1089. Washington has allowed wrongful discharge claims “where employees are fired in retaliation for reporting employer misconduct, i.e., whistleblowing.” Gardner v. Loomis Armored Inc., 128 Wash.2d 931, 913 P.2d 377, 379 (1996) (citing Dicomes v. State, 113 Wash.2d 612, 782 P.2d 1002, 1007 (1989)). To prevail on a wrongful termination claim, a plaintiff must prove that her protected activity was “a substantial factor motivating the employer to discharge the employee.” Rickman v. Premera Blue Cross, 184 Wash.2d 300, 358 P.3d 1153, 1160 (2015). On the undisputed facts of this case, where Bailey did exactly what she was instructed to do—to report to her superiors in order to help the company avoid violating tax law—her whistleblower claim fails.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Bailey also moved for certification to the Washington Supreme Court on two questions of Washington law (Dkt. 12). We deny her motion for certification.