Last year a former Light & Wonder employee in Michigan claimed one of his colleagues pressured him to forge financial paperwork for the company. After being let go by the organization on the same day he filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
That employee, Antonio Amormino, argued his termination violated state whistleblower laws.
This week, the court dismissed Amormino’s complaint, shooting down many of his arguments, but did allow for 21 days to amend the complaint, as he did think there was a way to potentially make a more compelling case.
In the initial filing, Amormino argued that the company was aware of his OSHA complaint even though it was contemporaneous with his firing. The court also disagreed with the argument, as presented, that OSHA qualifies as a law enforcement agency under the whistleblower statutes.
Amormino named LNW Gaming as well as Light & Wonder International and Light & Wonder Inc. The judge noted in his decision that it was only in Amormino’s response to Light & Wonder’s motion to dismiss that he presented evidence to suggest these companies were connected by the same business address. Since he did not present this information in his initial complaint, the judge could not take it under consideration and said the plaintiff failed to state a claim against the international organization.
SBC Americas reached out to Light & Wonder but has yet to receive a response.
The timing of Amormino’s complaint did come at an arduous point in the company’s history. Light & Wonder remains embroiled in a lawsuit with competitor Aristocrat over copyright infringement and another, similar lawsuit involving Evolution. These legal woes have impacted share prices.
Earlier this month Light & Wonder announced plans to delist from NASDAQ by the end of the year and only trade on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) going forward.
