Boeing faces second whistle-blower suit

SEATTLE, Dec. 3 (UPI) — A former Boeing employee filed suit against the company in Seattle, claiming he was fired for speaking to reporters about ethical violations.

Boeing told former internal auditor Mathew Neumann he was fired for unauthorized contact with the media, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Wednesday.

Neumann said Boeing ignored his warnings that it was violating auditing standards, then fired him after he spoke with reporters who showed up at his office uninvited to confirm information about a story detailing the company’s troubles complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The suit mirrors a suit filed in October by Nicholas Tides, a Boeing former information technology auditor, who claims he was fired after complaining to managers the company was not in compliance with the new auditing standards.

Boeing said Tides “never communicated to his supervisors, investigators or Congress a belief that Boeing violated any of the anti-fraud statutes,” outlined in the law.

Boeing said it fired Tides for “violating company policy regarding the release of confidential company information,” the newspaper said.

Neumann’s lawsuit says he explained the problems to a human resources director in August 2007.

In response, the director pointed to a pillow embroidered with the expression, “Get Over It,” the lawsuit claims.

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