On Aug. 25, 2017, plaintiff Shujun Qiu, a corporate treasurer for Three Rivers Provider Network Inc., was terminated from her position. Qiu was hired by Three Rivers to act as its controller in April 2017. Qiu claimed that she and the company entered into a contract that stated that Qiu was employed at-will, but that if she was terminated, she would be provided 30 days’ notice. Qiu was later made the company’s corporate treasurer, but she was terminated after five months. Qiu claimed that she was terminated in retaliation for being a whistleblower and reporting sexual harassment of another employee. In addition, she claimed that she was terminated without being give 30 days’ notice. Qiu sued Three Rivers Provider Network Inc., alleging that the company’s actions constituted a breach of contract, wrongful termination and whistleblower retaliation. She also alleged that the company’s actions constituted violations of the Labor Code and the Business and Professions Code. Qiu claimed that she was terminated in retaliation for disclosing illegal conduct by the company’s founder and owner. She claimed that the owner asked her to liquidate a subsidiary bank account, which she believed was illegal, and that she was terminated for disclosing the request to management and refusing to liquidate the account. She further claimed that the company terminated her because it believed that she would report the illegal conduct to authorities. Qiu claimed that another reason for her termination was because she complained to human resources about the owner’s alleged sexual harassment of another employee. Qiu further claimed that she was not given 30 days’ notice before her termination and that, at the time of her termination, no payment was provided to her in lieu of such notice. In addition, Qiu claimed that the company’s chief executive officer asked her to sign a waiver and release of her claims and initially refused to pay her final wages owed unless she signed the document. She claimed that when she refused and drew attention to the CEO’s attempts, the CEO attempted to get her to sign a confidentiality agreement that, she claimed, said she was aware of no “accounting irregularities nor [had she] reported any.” Qiu admitted that Three Rivers ultimately paid her the final wages owed, but she claimed that she was only paid approximately one week after she sued. Defense counsel argued that Qiu never reported sexual harassment and that Qiu was not a whistleblower, as the alleged conduct she was asked to engage in was neither illegal nor did Qiu believe it to be illegal. Instead, defense counsel contended that Three Rivers lawfully terminated Qiu because it eliminated her position and outsourced her job duties. Counsel also contended that Qiu was terminated because the company did not trust her., Qiu claimed that she excelled at her job and that she was given a raise and made the company’s corporate treasurer. She also claimed there were no complaints about her job performance prior to her termination. Qiu claimed she suffers from emotional distress, including sleeplessness, anxiety and depression. Qiu sought recovery of past and future lost earnings, and damages for her emotional distress. She also sought recovery of punitive damages against Three Rivers for the conduct she endured.