Music-tech company Dolby Laboratories took no action on a case of suspected H-1B visa fraud by an employee and instead fired the whistleblower, a lawsuit claims.
Dolby said it would not comment on litigation.
Jorge Reyes said in his lawsuit that Dolby hired him as a senior manager for investigations in October 2016, but fired him less than a year later after he brought his concerns about alleged visa fraud to management, and then to the federal government.
About halfway through Reyes' time at Dolby, he met a co-worker who described himself as a lawyer from Argentina, according to his lawsuit. Suspicious of what the man told him about his qualifications and education, Reyes began to investigate his colleague's status and background, he said in the suit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court.
Reyes claimed in the suit that he found that the worker had submitted falsified documentation to obtain an H-1B visa, which is intended for jobs requiring specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or higher. The administration of President Donald Trump has taken aim at the H-1B and intends to change how the lottery for the visa is run, to favor more highly educated workers.
After Reyes reported his concerns to senior management of his San Francisco employer, the company began to retaliate against him, claiming his performance was lacking and that he'd exaggerated his resume, he alleged. A supervisor suggested that he must not be interested in his job and should look elsewhere for employment, Reyes claimed.
Dolby did not take any action on Reyes' report of visa fraud, he claimed.
So Reyes took his findings to federal officials in April 2017, he said in the suit. "A criminal investigation was opened by both the United States State Department and Homeland Security," the lawsuit said.
The State Department said it would not comment on a matter that is before the courts. Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
Reyes claimed that Dolby's "harassment" of him subsequently intensified, and he was diagnosed with high blood pressure and anxiety, which he claimed resulted from harassment. He took a month of medical leave and returned to work when cleared to do so by his doctor, he said in the suit.
The company continued its alleged harassment by putting him on administrative leave and opening up a "threat assessment" investigation targeting him, he claimed. He was not allowed to return to work, and was fired in August 2017, he claimed.
