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Ex-Employee Sues Hollis, N.H., Electronics Parts Distribution Company

Posted on: Tuesday, 30 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 31--NASHUA -- A Maine man claims he lost his job at a Hollis electronics parts distribution company after refusing to ship packages that were mislabeled to avoid international tariffs.

Darrel Gibson, of 1338 Mason Bay Road, Jonesport, Maine, filed a wrongful discharge suit against Source Electronics Corp. of 26 Clinton Drive in Hollis earlier this month in Hillsborough County Superior Court.

Gibson claims he was fired from his shipping supervisor job after he refused to make improper shipments to Mexico.

He also claims his firing was retaliatory because he told the company he would be resuming treatment for Hepatitis C, a condition that had caused him to miss work in the past. Gibson told the company he would not miss work during this treatment, however, according to court documents.

Source Electronics programs and tests integrated-circuit chips and distributes part throughout the United States and North America.

Gibson was hired at Source as a shipper on May 24, 1999, and was fired from his lead shipper job on April 2, 2003, the same day he told his supervisor he would no longer make "illegal" international shipments.

His termination also came one week after telling his supervisor that he would begin treatment for Hepatitis C, his suit states.

Neither Source's attorney, Elizabeth Bailey of Sheehan, Phinney Bass & Green law firm in Manchester, nor Gibson's attorney, Bryan Clickner of Goffstown, would comment on the case. Gibson has requested a jury trial.

Rich Labombard, plant manager at Source, also declined comment.

According to the suit, Gibson's doctor recommended on March 27, 2003, that he start treatment again for his Hepatitis, but that this time, he would not have to miss any work.

The suit also states that during training Gibson was told by a Source supervisor that items could be shipped tariff free if they contained "samples."

Gibson was then told to ship a cable to Mexico and mark the package as a sample. He was later told by the director of operations to ship all supplies to Mexico as samples, his suit states.

Those supplies included boxes, parts tubes, parts pockets reels and marking pens.

International shipping laws require that shipping documents correctly list the quantity of items in a shipment. On at least two occasions, Source shipments were audited and found not to have accurate part counts on the shipping documents, the suit states.

On March 29, 2003, Gibson shipped a package to Mexico, estimating the number of parts. But the shipment was audited and a discrepancy discovered.

Gibson said in his suit that Labombard, the plant manager, gave him the information for the March 29 shipment, and he followed company procedure and filled out the invoice using information Labombard gave him.

On April 2, Labombard spoke with Gibson about the invoice, and Gibson told him he would "no longer prepare documents for illegal shipments to Mexico," the suit states.

Gibson claims he suffered "substantial injury and damage," including lost wages and emotional distress, from being fired. The suit does not specify damages sought.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H.

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Source: The Telegraph

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