## Q27 key (Whistleblower Termination)

1. Maya's January 5 report is protected and was partly substantiated. Any February termination falls inside 90 days and triggers the causation presumption. Missed: the company evaluates the case as if Maya must prove motive from scratch.
2. Reid's “build the file” text, sudden warning based on old incidents, lenient comparators, “data theft” label, and proposed no-severance cause decision strongly support retaliation and manager taint. Missed: the termination record ignores its most damaging contemporaneous document.
3. The personal-account transfer is real misconduct but, on the supplied policy and comparators, supports the same written warning others received, not clear-and-convincing proof of termination absent the report. Missed: a first offense is converted into a unique discharge rationale.
4. The December restructuring is potentially lawful because it predates the report and identifies Maya's position objectively. It ceases to be a clean same-action defense if the other three employees are retained and 80 percent of Maya's duties are reposted. Missed: a paper elimination is treated as genuine despite continuation of the work.
5. Reid should be removed from the decision. Independent HR or counsel must preserve and review restructuring timestamps, role duties, all four employee outcomes, comparator discipline, and cause communications. Missed: a neutral signer launders a retaliatory recommendation.
6. Do not terminate for cause now. If the product line is genuinely closed, all four identified positions are eliminated consistently, no substantially identical replacement is posted, and Maya receives the same eight-week severance, the pre-report reduction may proceed with carefully documented neutral reasons. Missed: Kestrel sacrifices its only credible lawful path.
7. If Kestrel retains the work or selectively retains the others, keep Maya employed or place her in a genuinely available comparable role, apply the ordinary warning for the transfer, and reassess only future independently investigated conduct. Missed: the company fires on a record that makes causation nearly automatic.