The former City Attorney for the City of Milpitas has filed a multi-million dollar complaint against the City for unlawful termination and retaliatory discharge. The complaint, filed against the Defendants: City of Milpitas, City Manager Tom Williams and Councilmember Debbie Giordano, alleges a retaliatory discharge in violation of Cal. Government Code § 12940(h), violation of the whistleblower protection law under Cal. Labor Code § 1102.5 and termination in retaliation for exercising free speech rights. Mr. Ogaz is represented by Adam J. Zapala and Joseph W. Cotchett of the law firm of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP.
Mr. Ogaz’s filings come after he satisfied any pre-filing requirements by submitting a government tort claim and a charge with the Department of Fair Housing & Employment (“DFEH”). The filings allege that the City unlawfully retaliated against Mr. Ogaz for his participation in an investigation into potentially discriminatory and unethical conduct by Milpitas’s City Manager, Thomas C. Williams.
