Ex-Marine in racism claim against F&P
An American who worked for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is suing the New Zealand company for almost $40 million over claims he lost his job because of his race.
But the Auckland health technology firm rejects the claims and will contest the action.
US resident William Talford worked as a respiratory sales specialist for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare in California for about a year from mid-2015.
But he filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, Orange County late last year against the company and some of its employees for alleged wrongful termination and discrimination
His lawyer, Sandra Bauer, said the basic claim was that Talford’s job was terminated because of racial discrimination and discrimination based on his military background.
He also alleged the company had defamed him and that there were hostile working conditions.
Talford’s complaint filed in court said his contract was terminated on June 24 last year ‘‘based largely on his race as he was the only sales person that was black’’.
He also claimed he lost his job because of his age and because of discrimination against his career as a former Marine who had served two tours in the Middle East.
The court documents said Talford’s manager shared private and personal information about him which was ‘‘made up and falsely documented’’ and put him in a bad light.
Talford alleged a false performance improvement plan (PIP) was sent to eight people on his team before being widely discussed by the company
This was a bid to damage his repu- tation and ruin his career, he said.
That document said Talford was incompetent and his employers had lost confidence in him.
He claimed to have an extensive sales background and an MBA in healthcare management.
At a national sales meeting in New Zealand in April last year Talford claimed it was clear the vast majority, if not all, of the company’s sales staff had been told about or read the PIP and that he was shunned because of it.
This followed alleged gossip which was said to include ‘‘I never liked the guy, no wonder he is on a PIP’’, and ‘‘he is creepy, it’s because he is a former Marine, he probably killed people’’.
Talford’s other causes of actions included harassment, breach of contract and invasion of privacy.
Bauer said Talford was seeking upwards of US$28m (NZ$37.8m) to settle the claims.
A Fisher & Paykel Healthcare spokeswoman said the company was aware of the claims but did not accept them and was defending the case.
‘‘This is currently before the courts and we have no further comment at this stage.’’
In May, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare predicted its sales could hit $1 billion this year.
Chief executive Lewis Gradon said at the time the company was benefiting from stronger demand for its respiratory products, with its profit jumping 18 per cent.