On Sept. 21, 2015, plaintiff Randall Benart, a Navy veteran who worked as a supervisor at Fort Irwin military base, was asked by his employer, DA Defense Logistics HQ, LLC, a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman Corp., an aerospace and defense company, to photograph military equipment in the base’s small-arms and communications and electronics departments, where Benart worked. Benart refused, since those departments were subject to secret clearance and photographs were not permitted without written authorization from Fort Irwin. DA Defense had taken over Benart’s contract with Northrop Grumman in 2014, so when DA Defense requested the photographs in 2015, Benart reported the request to Northrup Grumman. Benart was ultimately terminated from his position on March 14, 2017. He was told that he was being terminated for time card fraud. Benart sued DA Defense and his supervisors, Susan Dinkins and David Granado. Benart alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted whistleblower retaliation, disability discrimination and failure to accommodate. Benart further alleged that he was retaliated against in violation of the California Family Rights Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Benart claimed that after he reported the improper request to Northrup Grumman on Sept. 29, 2015, he was reprimanded by DA Defense for going “outside company channels,” and that when he complained about the reprimand, he was baselessly investigated. He also claimed that he was written up 12 times by DA Defense, after never having received a single write-up during his more than eight years on the base, and that he was denied time off for visits to the VA hospital to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder and for physical therapy. He further claimed that he was written up when he kept his medical appointments despite being denied time off and that the time card fraud was a fabrication and pretext, even though he was a salaried employee. Benart claimed that, on Oct. 15, 2016, he emailed human resources to explain how he filled out his time cards and that all supervisors filled out their time cards in the exact same manner. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that other supervisors who filled out timecards in the exact same manner as Benart were never disciplined. Defense counsel contended that Benart was investigated after DA Defense received employee complaints about Benart improperly filling out his time cards and that Benart was warned about it on several occasions. Counsel contended that when Benart continued to fill out his time cards the same way, despite the warnings, he was terminated., Benart claimed that he suffered emotional distress as a result of workplace retaliation and his termination. He also claimed that his depression and anxiety, manifestations of his post-traumatic stress disorder, were exacerbated as a result of being denied time off for visits to the VA hospital to treat his psychological condition and for physical therapy, and as a result of being written up for keeping those appointments. Benart sought recovery of lost earnings, damages for past and future emotional pain and suffering, and punitive damages.