On Aug. 23, 2010, plaintiff Steven Powell, a district manager for the state of California’s Waste Management Collection & Recycling, made an internal complaint about the company’s employee rewards program, in that an employee was improperly redeeming reward points. The company subsequently investigated Powell’s complaint. Then, on Sept. 7, 2010, the company investigated a separate complaint made against Powell, allegedly about his behavior at a work event earlier that year. Powell was ultimately terminated from employment in October 2010. He claimed that his termination was in retaliation for making the August 2010 complaint. Powell sued Waste Management of California Inc., which was doing business as Waste Management Collection & Recycling; the Director of Operations and Powell’s immediate supervisor, Darrell Kato; and the Human Resources Manager, Michael Dory. Powell alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted wrongful termination in violation of public policy and violation of Labor Code §1054 (the blacklisting law). Powell contended that he was terminated as a result of making an internal complaint on Aug. 23, 2010, in which he complained about an employee was improperly redeeming reward points. He claimed that his complaint was protected by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as a statute of public importance. Powell also claimed that once he was terminated, Waste Management misrepresented the reason for his firing, which blacklisted him from further employment at other agencies. In addition, he claimed that Kato and Dory misrepresented to prospective employers the true reason for his termination and, therefore, prevented him from finding another job in the waste industry. Kato and Dory contended that Powell was not terminated for filing an internal complaint, which they claimed was properly investigated. Instead, they claimed that Powell was terminated following another investigation that began on Sept. 7, 2010, which was in regards to a complaint filed by the outside vendor about Powell’s behavior at a Balloon & Wine Festival in June 2010. They alleged that in the complaint, it was reported that Powell was intoxicated at the event, having brought his own bottle of vodka, and that he was acting inappropriately, including “making out” with a woman who was not his wife. They further claimed that Powell interfered with the investigation after being instructed not to talk to employees about it. Thus, the defendants claimed that Powell was terminated for conduct unbecoming of a manager. In addition, Kato and Dory claimed that they never made any false statements to outside parties that would have blacklisted Powell from employment. In response, Powell admitted to bringing a bottle of vodka to the work event, but denied “making out” with the woman, claiming that he only kissed her., At trial, Powell sought roughly $1.8 million in economic damages for the 10 years of lost earnings he would have made at Waste Management. He further sought an unspecified amount in noneconomic damages for his emotional distress, claiming he suffers from depression and anxiety. In addition, Powell claimed he treats with a marriage and family therapist due to the detriment the defendants caused to his personal life. Defense counsel argued that no damages were owed since Powell was terminated for legitimate business reasons and no false statements were made to outside parties that would have blacklisted him from employment.