Whistleblower Wins $1 Million After He Was Fired for Blackmail

(Bloomberg) -- A former executive at a French sugar maker won nearly $1 million in a lawsuit that came down to whether he was a whistleblower or a blackmailer.

Philippe Roux warned Tereos about his corruption suspicions and dangerous work conditions within weeks of taking over as head of its Romanian subsidiary in late 2016. He then asked to leave the sugar maker as he worried he’d been prompted to take the position under false pretenses and worried he’d be blamed for the previous management’s shortcomings.

Tereos says it investigated his alerts -- finding no substance to the corruption allegation but improving safety systems. The dispute escalated when Roux demanded a leaving payout. The sugar maker said he threatened to publicize the incidents if he didn’t get one, and Tereos fired him instead.

It shouldn’t have, according to the court of appeals of Amiens in the north of France, and must compensate Roux about 881,500 euros ($953,000) for unfairly dismissing him.

“The testimony provided by senior executives of the company and the group clearly lack impartiality,” without establishing with certainty the alleged blackmail, the judges ruled, reversing a previous decision by an employment tribunal. Tereos said it will appeal.

The Roux case is striking because of the payout but also as it provides insight on freedom-of-expression protections for employees. Large awards in labor lawsuits are relatively rare in France and more often won by disgruntled bankers -- with noteworthy victories last year for a former Morgan Stanley deal maker and two ex-traders.

Roux’s will end up with a lower sum as the court also ordered him to reimburse Tereos about 77,000 euros in unrelated excess payments he received in his previous posting in Brazil. A lawyer for Roux, Marc Bourguignon, declined to comment on the case.

Tereos said in a statement it plans to appeal the May 7 ruling at France’s top court as it “raises legal issues about the limits on the freedom of expression for staff.”

It said as part of the lawsuit that Roux was fired because of the alleged blackmail attempt and because he made “unspeakable accusations” in a letter to the chief executive officer. Tereos says he suggested his hierarchy might have turned a blind eye to corruption in Romania and said the prior management was seriously incompetent.

The Amiens court considered that the terms he used were “not insulting, excessive or defamatory toward the company.” The judges said Roux’s alerts were “based on precise, objective elements.”

On the safety issues, the court said that the company’s own findings appear to confirm the “extent and nature” of the failings the former executive pointed out.

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