In November 2018, plaintiff Socorro Tongco, an investigator for the state of California’s Department of Industrial Relations, was terminated from her position. Tongco claimed that she was fired in retaliation for communicating with individuals from the California State Auditor in 2015 and 2016. She claimed that, at that time, the auditor’s office was investigating the department’s director, Christine Baker, for alleged violations of the state’s civil service rules by allegedly advancing the career of Baker’s daughter and brother. (Baker ultimately resigned before the auditor’s office released a report on her.) Tongco sued the Department of Industrial Relations; Baker; the chief of the anti-fraud unit, Mi Kim; the secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, David Lanier; a human-resources supervisor, Roberta Redden; and the director of the Department of Industrial Relations, Andre Schrool. Tongco alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination. Defense counsel contended that Tongco was terminated for legitimate reasons, such as Tongco falsely claiming that she was sick while she was on the road working and traveling with her boyfriend. Counsel also contended that Tongco spent a lot of work time on personal business and that Tongco disclosed information to her colleagues that should have been confidential., Tongco claimed that she suffered a loss of income and promotional opportunities as a result of her termination. She also claimed that she suffered emotional distress as a result of the incidents. Tongco sought recovery of economic damages, including lost wages and promotional opportunities, and noneconomic damages for her emotional pain and suffering.