Blue Shield of California has sued its former public policy director for breach of contract related to his disclosing what the company deemed to be confidential information.
The suit against Michael Johnson was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week, 8 months after he left Blue Shield.
Johnson worked at Blue Shield for 12 years. Shortly after he left, he launched a campaign against the company, and criticizing it for operating too much like its for-profit competitors.
He wasn’t alone in his criticism as the California Franchise Tax Board said much the same thing last year when it removed Blue Shield’s exemption to state income taxes.
Johnson told the Los Angeles Times he wouldn’t be intimidated or silenced by the lawsuit, which he said was designed to shut him up by forcing him to lawyer up. "I won’t back down. I’m going to keep speaking out, louder than ever, about Blue Shield’s misconduct as a nonprofit," he said.
Blue Shield for its part is not seeking monetary damages, but just wants Johnson to stop disclosing confidential information that he was privy to as an executive of the company.
Johnson, who graduated from Harvard and worked for the California Department of Insurance prior to joining Blue Shield, said he just wants the company to act like a nonprofit if it operates with the advantages that come from being a nonprofit. His online petition has garnered tens of thousands of signatures and the lawsuit will no doubt have the effect of drawing even more attention to his efforts.
