OAKLAND, Calif., March 29 -Former Kodak Director of Engineering, Maya Raber, filed suit on March 28, 2006, in Alameda County Superior Court against Kodak Imaging Network, and parent company Eastman Kodak Company alleging wrongful termination and retaliation after she complained about Kodak's false advertising, deception of consumers and irreversible damage to Kodak customers' photo files.
Maya Raber, wife and mother of two, worked for Kodak as the Director of Engineering overseeing the Site Software Development Department since 2002. Throughout this employment, she was highly regarded by executives, peers and staff for her technical skill, positive attitude and leadership abilities. Her most recent employment review confirms this. Mrs. Raber was viewed as a team player who was loyal to Kodak and its customers. Many said she epitomized the target "soccer mom" market to which Kodak caters.
However, when Kodak decided to implement an aggressive cost saving project by illegally tampering with customers cherished digital photos, she and others objected. Mrs. Raber explains:
"Kodak disregarded consumers' interests in its efforts to save money.
The plan was to hide behind the trusted Kodak brand, instead of
promoting and protecting it."
Mrs. Raber and others who opposed the project offered other ways to save the company money. Nonetheless, Kodak executives chose to save costs by implementing the project rather than to maintain the high quality associated with the Kodak name. Mrs. Raber stated that:
"Perhaps the most shocking thing about the project was the Kodak
communication plan, leading customers to believe their photos are being
optimized, when in fact they were being irreversibly damaged."
Indeed, the complaint alleges that Kodak executives intended to market the project so that customers would be fooled into thinking that they were getting a better photo format and service and to hide the damage being done. A Kodak executive is attributed as saying that the Kodak customers "wouldn't understand anyway."
When it became clear that Mrs. Raber would continue to oppose the project, she was abruptly and without cause terminated. Mrs. Raber's attorney, Gary Gwilliam said:
"This is an outrageous example of how big companies fire good employees
who complain about illegal wrongdoing on the job. Whistleblowers should
be protected, not subjected to retaliation."
