Jury Awards Fired Employee $23.3 Million
A former employee at Johnson Controls was awarded $23.3 million in damages after a Los Angeles jury ruled he was wrongfully fired because he reported unethical business practices.
Nabil Darghous claimed in his lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, that he was harassed after he went to his bosses to report suspected kickbacks, sexual harassment and prostitutes being hired at overseas projects.
Johnson Controls, a thermostat control maker based in Milwaukee, was ordered to pay Darghous $6.3 million in compensatory damages and $17 million in punitive damages.
“We’re shocked by the decision and we do plan to appeal,” a company spokesman said Tuesday.
Darghous said his superiors told him nothing could be done about the alleged misconduct. He was fired in 1994 after 19 years with the firm.
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