A former Thomson Reuters senior attorney editor is suing the media and technology conglomerate, alleging she was terminated for leading a protest against the company's data-sharing contracts with federal immigration authorities.
Billie Little filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on Tuesday. She claims the company fired her in retaliation for raising alarms about how its CLEAR database is used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to the lawsuit, Little led more than 200 employees in signing a letter to Thomson Reuters leadership. The letter expressed opposition to contracts with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Retaliation claims
Little alleges Thomson Reuters launched an internal investigation targeting her following media coverage of the employee letter. She was fired on March 20 for an unspecified code of conduct violation, according to a press release from her legal team.
"When I saw evidence that our products were being used to harm people and undermine the law, I did what anyone should be able to do—I raised the alarm. Thomson Reuters’ response was to fire me," Little said in a statement.
The lawsuit claims Little was singled out as a visible leader to make an example of her, and that she may be the only employee terminated in connection to the protest.
Thomson Reuters operates the CLEAR investigative database, which aggregates personal information including Social Security numbers, addresses, and vehicle registrations. Previous investigations by 404 Media linked the CLEAR platform to ICE tools used for tracking and neighborhood raids.
Little's legal team argues the company's actions violate Oregon whistleblower protections.
"Thomson Reuters should have thanked Billie for raising concerns about the use of its products instead of hiding behind a vague Code of Conduct violation," said Maria Witt, an attorney at Albies & Stark LLC.
Thomson Reuters did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the litigation.