An employee of Boeing Co. in Los Angeles has reached a tentative settlement in his lawsuit alleging the company and its Millenium Space System unit targeted him for making whistleblower complaints about an alleged physical assault by a highly placed manager along with other suspected state law violations.
The lawsuit, which also named two Boeing managers as defendants, was brought in Los Angeles Superior Court by Craig M. Garriott, who began working for Boeing in 1997 and jointly for Boeing and Millennium Space Systems in El Segundo starting in 2022.
On Aug. 11, Garriott’s attorney filed court papers with Judge James I. Montgomery notifying him of a “conditional” accord in the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Oct. 12. No terms were divulged.
In their previous court papers, Boeing attorneys denied Garriott’s allegations, said they were barred wholly or in part by the statute of limitations and that the defendants “acted consistent with management rights clause in the collective bargaining agreement.”
Garriott joined Boeing when it acquired Hughes Space and Communications Co., where he was previously employed. In 2007 he also began serving as a shop steward, later advancing to higher positions in his union local, his suit stated.
In 2017, a Boeing manager allegedly asked Garriott to lie by stating work had been completed on a government project when it had not, according to the plaintiff’s complaint.
The whistleblower retaliation suit filed in April 2024 contended Garriott refused, saying that to do so would be illegal and unethical. In retaliation, the plaintiff alleges, Boeing management demoted him and denied him work opportunities in the company’s satellite production facility and elsewhere.
Garriott alleged managers at the aerospace company attempted to intimidate him through physical assaults, false accusations of poor work performance, denied work opportunities and other actions.