Dec 17 (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co's ex-fraud investigator can pursue claims of being unlawfully fired after disclosing alleged financial misconduct related to the company, including heavy spending by Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris, a U.S. judge has ruled.
Kimberly Wood worked at Dow for 25 years before she was fired in October. Her job required her to conduct internal investigations, during which she said she discovered unreported personal expenditures made by Liveris.
Wood alleges in the lawsuit that she was fired after reporting these events to her superiors, upsetting Liveris and executive vice president Charles Kalil, who later filed a motion to dismiss the case.
The case has been filed under a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, under which publicly traded companies are prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against whistleblowers.
"Because Wood sufficiently pleads a claim for relief against Defendants, their motion to dismiss will be denied," U.S. Judge Thomas L. Ludington said in his ruling on Monday.
Dow could not be reached for a comment.
The case is Wood v. The Dow Chemical Co., 14-cv-13049, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (Bay City).
(Reporting by Amrutha Penumudi in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Wills)