Hypothetical #1:

Company provides accounting and consulting services to businesses, including some public companies. Erin (Employee) has worked for Company for 12 years and has acceptable performance reviews. She has had a few counseling statements but seems to have remedied the performance concerns. Erin recently reported to management and a federal investigator that she believed the CFO of the Company was improperly categorizing expenses to cover up unauthorized spending by senior management of a public company that is a client of Company. An outside investigator recently concluded that the CFO had acted properly but found that Erin had a good faith basis for suspecting impropriety. Erin openly disagrees with the outcome and insists that had the CFO been a woman, the investigation would have turned out differently.

Erin’s supervisor, Sally, now wants to terminate Erin because she says that Erin’s performance has deteriorated significantly over the last month. Sally has a few specific examples, including one that reflects a serious mistake that someone of Erin’s experience should not have made. Sally wonders whether Erin is intentionally making errors in order to cause problems for the Company, and particularly the CFO. Sally has spoken to Erin informally (without documenting the discussions) about Sally’s concerns but Erin has refused to acknowledge the errors or agree to corrective action. Sally is particularly upset because Erin’s recent mistake caused Sally to receive significant criticism from her direct supervisor, the Company’s CFO. Sally insists that termination should be immediate in order to protect the Company and its clients.