UC Davis employee fired after divulging illegal human research performed on San Quentin inmates
(from press release)
Insider Exclusive, one of America’s leading independent, documentary film producers, was recently in Davis, CA to film a segment involving a high profile whistleblowing case which pits a nurse researcher against the University of California, Davis. Insider Exclusive is known nationally for their coverage of compelling legal cases.
Producer Steve Murphy and the Insider Exclusive crew visited the law offices of Mary-Alice Coleman, who represents the plaintiff, Janet Fulton, in this case (Janet Keyzer vs. Regents of University of California). Coleman is a well-known Northern California employment law attorney with a practice based in Davis, CA. Sacramento-based employment law attorney Lawrance Bohm serves as co-counsel on the case, scheduled to begin trial at the end of June of this year.
Fulton contends she was fired from the UC Davis Office of Research when she expressed concerns regarding the violation of security and privacy rights of San Quentin inmates that took place during a University research project. Coleman and Bohm also assert that the abrupt firing of Fulton’s husband from his IT position at the university was a retaliatory move resulting from Fulton’s refusal to back down from her assertion of wrongdoing by UC Davis.
Attorney Coleman commented, “We intend to show that despite her whistleblower status and efforts to do the right things, Ms. Fulton was harassed, bullied, and ultimately fired by UC Davis. Her highly regarded nine-year career was lost, her marriage fell apart and ended in divorce, and she suffered the stress and anxiety of a complete loss of income. This hostile situation contributed and exacerbated a dangerous medical condition in which her heart races far out of the normal, healthy range.”
According to Coleman, another challenge in this lawsuit is the lengths the U.C. Regents have gone to in an effort to stonewall Fulton’s case.
“They have held back documents until the last minute, including dumping about 1,400 documents on us just prior to the original date of the trial. They have also refused to produce individuals to depose and filed a frivolous motion to dismiss the case; basically they are fighting this tooth and nail in an effort to drag it out.”
Coleman is confident she can prove that the retaliation directed at Fulton, and her ultimate firing from UCD, was a result of her whistleblowing. Coleman claims that the UC Davis Office of Research made a conscious decision and concerted effort to get rid of Fulton when she refused to back down from her allegations of shoddy and illegal practices.
The Insider Exclusive piece includes compelling testimony from Fulton, attorneys Coleman and Bohm, as well as Fulton’s ex-husband. ABC, NBC and FOX are among the networks that have licensed and syndicated the Insider Exclusive investigative TV Series on HULU, NETFLIX and AMAZON HD.
To see the video: click here
The case is scheduled now to go to trial on June 30.
The Vanguard has covered the story twice:
September 24, 2009 – Whistleblower at UC Davis Fired Allegedly For Reporting IRB Non-Compliance and Ethical Violations
February 17, 2014 – UC Davis Whistleblower Case About to Go to Trial After More than Four Years
i just heard about another case of whistleblowing retaliation at ucd. clearly they don’t understand the concept of whistleblower protections and with leland yee gone from the senate, not sure who steps up to fix it.