A man who at one time was a high-ranked employee at National Beverage Corp., the manufacturer of the famous LaCroix sparkling water drink, has sued his former employer on claims that he was wrongfully terminated.
Specifically, he alleges he was fired in retaliation for his opposing an alleged scheme to mislead the public. He says that, as part of his duties, he became aware that the President of his company planned to announce that LaCroix’s cans no longer contained a chemical referred to as BPA back in 2018.
He further said the President fired him a day after he opposed this announcement as misleading and potentially unlawful.
In fact, while the company has been moving away from BPA for the past couple of years, LaCroix cans only were BPA-free a couple of months ago, in April 2019.
For its part, the company denies the allegations and suggested that its former vice president was trying to extract some additional compensation from the beverage company. National Beverage Corp. also indicated that according to the federal Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, BPA is a safe product. The authorities of some states, however, disagree with the FDA’s conclusion.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the sparkling water manufacturer has found itself caught up in accusations of false or misleading marketing. A year or so ago, others accused National Beverage as marketing LaCroix as all natural when in fact the product contains some artificial ingredients.
Employees in the Denver area have the right to speak up if their employers are violating the laws, including laws that are in place to prevent false or misleading advertising, labeling and the like. If a Colorado employee feels he or she was fired in retaliation for opposing illegal activity, he or she may be able to recover damages for back pay, non-economic losses and other costs.