A lawyer who performed non-legal work for Anthem Inc. is suing the company, alleging he was wrongfully fired in 2021 for refusing based on the attorney-client privilege to divulge to management what a colleague told him before she allegedly made sexual harassment allegations against an Anthem executive.
Gregory Antoniono’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also alleges retaliation, both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and violations of the Labor and Business and Professions Codes. He seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the suit brought Aug. 15.
“Mr. Antoniono had performed exemplary work for Anthem for nearly 20 years,” the suit states. “But, despite decades of excellent performance and commendations, Anthem terminated him for refusing to break the law and violate his ethical and legal obligations.”
An Anthem executive did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Antoniono, 59, was licensed to practice law in California in 1993, before he was hired by Anthem, the suit states. In his Anthem job as director of strategic sourcing and procurement, Antoniono did not do legal work, but he was entrusted with a $650 million annual budget, led a large team and oversaw negotiations with and management of all vendors in support of the insurer’s marketing, according to the suit.
Many of the plaintiff’s Anthem colleagues, including members of upper management, knew he was an attorney and sought his legal advice on personal matters, the suit states. Although they sought such advice on a friendly basis, their communications with Antoniono were nonetheless protected by the attorney-client privilege and Antoniono’s ethical duty of confidentiality, the suit states.
A female colleague sought legal counseling from Antoniono in April 2021, the suit states. The suit does not state what the plaintiff and his co-worker talked about, but does say she later “apparently” made allegations of sexual harassment against a high-level Anthem executive who Antoniono in 2008 had provided legal advice from for the executive and his friends and family
“Thereafter, Anthem attempted to coerce Mr. Antoniono into divulging the substance of his prior communications with (the female colleague) despite knowing that, as an attorney, he was legally prohibited from doing so,” the suit states.
Revealing the contents of the conversation would likely have subjected the plaintiff to disbarment and other civil and disciplinary penalties, according to the suit. After careful review of the relevant legal authorities, Antoniono concluded that, without the consent of the colleague, it would have been unlawful for him to reveal any of the privileged information she shared with him, the suit states.
“Nonetheless, the message was clear: either violate the law and your ethical obligations or lose your job,” the suit states. “When Mr. Antoniono refused to break the law, he was fired in retaliation.”
When Antoniono was fired last September, management confirmed he was losing his job for his refusal to talk about his communications with the female colleague, which the plaintiff maintains he was legally and ethically prohibited from disclosing.