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Date: 09-30-2024
Case Style:
Jimmy Wilson v. The Boeing Company and Darryl Poole
Case Number: 23-CV-724
Judge: Patrick R. Wyrick
Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (Oklahoma County)
Plaintiff's Attorney:
Defendant's Attorney: Not Available
Description:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma wrongful termination employment law lawyer represented the Plaintiff.
Plaintiff Jimmy Wilson alleged that he was an employee of Defendant the Boeing Company (“Boeing”)from 2011 until he was terminated on November 30, 2022. On September 22, 2022, Wilson saw his coworker, Zack Harlow,c arry two fifty-pound boxes at the same time. This constituted a safety breach. Wilson informed Harlowof this, and he responde0d that the safety rules did not apply to him. The next day, Wison told his supervisor, Defendant Darryl Poole, about Har0low’s safety violation and expressed his intent to formally document the incident. Poole, however, instructed Wilson not to report it.
On October 12, 2022, Boeing senior manager Linda Rhinehart visited from the corporate site to discuss various company wide transitionsthat would be taking place. In front of Poole and Harlow, Wilson asked Rhinehart to talk privately. Afterwards, Wilson spoke with Rhineharton the phone and discussed “the safety violations.” (Dkt. 1 ¶ 11). Later that month, at a meeting with other Boeing employees, Poole called Wilson a “rat” and said that Boeing needed to “get rid of [that rat].” (Id. ¶ 12). On November 11, 2022, Wilson became aware that Boeing was investigating him, ostensibly because he had misused a company computer. As a result, Wilson ceased using the computers altogether. On November 30, 2022, Boeing terminated Wilson for “charging time to a government contract when no work was to be done.” (Id. ¶14). A Boeing employee subsequently contacted Wilson and clarified that the investigation commenced on October 12, “the same day that he requested a private meeting with [] Rhinehart to discuss whistleblowing” on Boeing’s safety procedures. (Id. ¶ 15). Thus, Wilson asserted that his termination and the incident on October 12 are related. On July 21, 2023, Wilson sued Boeing in the District Court of Oklahoma County seeking to recover damages for wrongful termination and retaliation under Oklahoma law.
Outcome: Motion to dismiss granted.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: