Whistleblower News From The Inside -- August 18, 2017
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Poland Spring Allegedly Committing “Colossal Fraud” — A lawsuit claims that Poland Spring Water is deceiving consumers with evergreen labels that say their bottle contains “100 percent natural spring water” that hails from Maine. The class-action lawsuit claims that parent company Nestle Waters North America is bottling common groundwater that doesn’t meet the federal definition of spring water. CNBC
WIPO Draft Whistleblower Protection Policy Falls Short of International Standards — This summer, the Director General of the WIPO, Francis Gurry, is circulating the draft of a new whistleblower protection policy for the consideration of WIPO Member States. This is striking for several reasons. First, Gurry has been the subject of numerous reports of misconduct from three WIPO whistleblowers, all of whom suffered retaliation from him. Second, the new policy names Director General Gurry as the official responsible for the entire process of protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. These features of the draft policy do not meet generally-accepted international best practice standards. Such standards do not place the authority for redress and vindication of a whistleblower in the hands of another staff member who may have a conflict of interest, as Gurry currently does. Government Accountability Project
A Pocket Dial to a Reporter Costs a Court Spokesman His Job — A longtime, highly-paid spokesman for the New York State Court system, David Bookstaver, accidentally called a reporter while having a four-minute conversation with someone else, which was captured on the reporter’s voicemail. In the recording, Mr. Bookstaver told the unnamed party that he had just lied to a Post reporter investigating his work schedule, by saying “I’m in a much less visible position; that doesn’t mean I’m not doing any [work]. But, frankly, look, the bottom line: The story’s true. I’m not doing anything. I barely show up to work and I’ve been caught.” NYT
Honeywell Diversity VP Says in Suit She Was Fired for Fighting Discrimination — Honeywell International faces a suit from a former vice president who said she was hired to increase diversity at the executive level but contends she was hired as window dressing. Natasha Chandler brought various claims including a whistleblower claim against the company, where she worked as vice president for human resources. She claims Honeywell solicited her to implement diversity strategies. But after starting on the job, she said she came to question the sincerity of the company’s commitment to remedy past discrimination, and the company began to retaliate against her for carrying out her duties. NJLJ