Halloum v. U.S. Department of Labor

Ninth Circuit

Halloum v. U.S. Department of Labor

307 F. App'x 106

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

DecidedJanuary 13, 2009

DocketNo. 06-71902

StatusPublished

This text of 307 F. App'x 106 (Halloum v. U.S. Department of Labor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Halloum v. U.S. Department of Labor, 307 F. App'x 106 (9th Cir. 2009).

Pincite

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

**

Ammar Halloum seeks review of a final decision issued by the Department of La[107]*107bor’s (DOL) Administrative Review Board (ARB), dismissing his “whistle-blowing” complaint under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002(SOX), 18 U.S.C. § 1514A. We affirm.

Halloum asserts he was subjected to adverse employment actions by Intel Corporation (Intel) because he notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Intel used fraudulent and inappropriate accounting practices. A subsequent investigation cleared Intel of any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, ARB concluded that Halloum established a prima facie case of retaliation that shifted the burden to Intel to establish, “by clear and convincing evidence, that it would have taken the same unfavorable personnel action against Halloum in the absence of his protected activity.”

We agree with ARB that Intel satisfied that burden and thus did not violate SOX. The administrative record demonstrates that Halloum did not integrate himself into Intel’s workforce or perform up to Intel’s expectations. ARB specifically noted evidence indicating that Halloum missed meetings, was frequently absent from work, failed to perform duties expected of a group leader, failed to understand Intel’s business operations, did not meet the job expectations of his grade, failed to comprehend Intel’s accounting system, and forced Intel to shift his work responsibilities to other group leaders. As ARB indicated, [tjhese were sufficient, non-discriminatory reasons to seek his termination as an employee and accordingly, Intel “would have taken the same action in the absence of Halloum’s protected activity.” These findings are supported by substantial evidence and therefore the dismissal of Halloum’s complaint was not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. See 18 U.S.C. § 1514A(b)(2)(A) (incorporating by reference the standards of review of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706).

AFFIRMED.

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

MEMORANDUM

**

Ammar Halloum seeks review of a final decision issued by the Department of La[107]*107bor’s (DOL) Administrative Review Board (ARB), dismissing his “whistle-blowing” complaint under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002(SOX), 18 U.S.C. § 1514A. We affirm.

Halloum asserts he was subjected to adverse employment actions by Intel Corporation (Intel) because he notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Intel used fraudulent and inappropriate accounting practices. A subsequent investigation cleared Intel of any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, ARB concluded that Halloum established a prima facie case of retaliation that shifted the burden to Intel to establish, “by clear and convincing evidence, that it would have taken the same unfavorable personnel action against Halloum in the absence of his protected activity.”

We agree with ARB that Intel satisfied that burden and thus did not violate SOX. The administrative record demonstrates that Halloum did not integrate himself into Intel’s workforce or perform up to Intel’s expectations. ARB specifically noted evidence indicating that Halloum missed meetings, was frequently absent from work, failed to perform duties expected of a group leader, failed to understand Intel’s business operations, did not meet the job expectations of his grade, failed to comprehend Intel’s accounting system, and forced Intel to shift his work responsibilities to other group leaders. As ARB indicated, [tjhese were sufficient, non-discriminatory reasons to seek his termination as an employee and accordingly, Intel “would have taken the same action in the absence of Halloum’s protected activity.” These findings are supported by substantial evidence and therefore the dismissal of Halloum’s complaint was not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. See 18 U.S.C. § 1514A(b)(2)(A) (incorporating by reference the standards of review of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706).

AFFIRMED.

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

307 F. App'x 106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/halloum-v-us-department-of-labor-ca9-2009.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack