Williams-Sonoma Fails to Ditch Ex-Worker’s Attack Reporting Suit

Williams-Sonoma Direct Inc. must face allegations of improperly firing an employee for reporting what he described as a violent attack by two coworkers, a federal judge said.

The fired worker sufficiently alleged that he reported conduct he reasonably believed violated state law and that the Williams-Sonoma Inc. subsidiary’s decision to fire him was based at least in part on his report, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey said in an unpublished opinion.

Tyrone Leverett worked in inventory control for Williams-Sonoma. Two coworkers attacked him “because of a disagreement over the operation of certain parts in ...