A former employee for Intuit claims in a new lawsuit that the company violated California labor law after he was allegedly terminated wrongfully for making political remarks on his Instagram page criticizing performances involving drag queens and children.
Brian Gilton has filed a new lawsuit against Intuit Inc. in San Francisco Superior Court on April 13. Gilton is accusing the software giant of alleged wrongful termination in retaliation for political remarks made on his personal Instagram account. The lawsuit contends this is in violation of multiple California Labor Codes.
In the lawsuit, Gilton, who worked as a senior content designer at Intuit for three years in good standing until his alleged wrongful dismissal last August, is described as “a passionate 37-year-old white male who regularly exercises his rights to participate in political activity, including political speech."
In June of 2022, Gilton posted two lengthy remarks on his Instagram page for what he called "cultural conservatism", saying:
"...These deeply, deeply lost leftists who are cheering on drag queen hour for 3-year-olds are lost in a planet-sized collective reaction to 40-year-old cultural conservatism. I’m not excusing the mental disorder of modern leftism – I’m just saying the pendulum is the problem; reactivity, instead of thoughtful response, is the problem. Homosexuality is not wrong. It never was. It never will be. Similarly, bringing 2-year-olds to strip clubs filled with naked sexual explicit adult behavior is wrong..."
He went on in a follow-up post to say,
"...You’re not a degenerate if you don’t follow the Bible. And you’re not a bigot if you don’t want your three-year-old getting dry humped by a cross dresser..."
While the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects Americans' abilities to speak on politics and society, many U.S. states, including California, give employers jurisdiction over who they terminate and why, under "at-will" employment laws. That jurisdiction could potentially cover statements which are made during non-work hours and off company premises such as political speech.
However, California Labor Law also prohibits employers from adopting or enforcing rules or policies that forbid or prevent employees from engaging in politics, or which may control or direct the political activities or affiliations of employees. It also prohibits employers from threatening employees with dismissal for refusing to align with the company's politics or societal views or because they engaged in political activity.
Around July 2022, Gilton alleges he was informed that Intuit was performing an investigation into the two June Instagram posts. According to the complaint, on Aug. 16, 2022, Gilton was told that he was terminated. Gilton alleges in his complaint that the real reason for his termination was because of his participation in political activity, including political speech.
Gilton is demanding a trial by jury and is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000, plus actual, special and punitive damages, and court costs and legal fees.
Gilton is represented by attorneys Cathryn G. Fund and Dina A. Issagholi of JML Law, of Woodland Hills.