The University of Michigan has settled a lawsuit with its former employee who claimed retaliation and wrongful termination.
Last month, the university paid a settlement amount of $300,000 to Amy J. Wang, who worked in the finance department and alleged university officials of terminating her when she declined to lie to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services officials over the employment status of a non-US citizen, reports Legal Reader.
According to the lawsuit details obtained by Mlive.com, the Associate Vice President of Finance, Nancy Hobbs, told Wang to lie regarding the employee in question who was employed through a North American Free Trade Agreement-created program, which allows Canadians and Mexicans to obtain a temporary work visa in the states.
Upon discovering that the employee was working in a “permanent, managerial role,” which was not in compliance with the program, Wang revised the employee’s duties, stripping them of various job responsibilities and a portion of their pay.
Infuriated with Wang’s actions, Hobbs asked her to resign. When Wang refused, the matter went to a disciplinary review conference, which resulted in Wang being fired her from her job on July 13, 2018.
Additionally, the university refused to acknowledge Wang’s claims that she was asked to lie to the immigration officials.
“The University of Michigan categorically denies the allegation that Wang was ever asked to lie,” U-M spokesman Rick Fitzgerald told Detroit Free press.
“The university also denies that Wang was a “whistleblower” because the university, on its own, discovered the visa issues with another employee and took action to correct that situation independent of Wang,” Fitzgerald added.
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