Fired salesman sues Thomson Reuters over survey

In the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Mark Rosenblum said he was terminated after telling US authorities that a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey that measures consumer attitudes and expectations about the US economy was released at different times to different subscribers.

Rosenblum said in his court papers that Thomson Reuters releases the monthly survey to “ultra low-latency” subscribers at two seconds before 9:55 am, to desktop subscribers at 9:55 am, and to the general public at 10:00 am. The term “low latency” is a reference to higher speed services often used by high-frequency traders in the financial services industry.

Rosenblum said in the court papers that on 29 June 2012 he told an unnamed FBI agent that he believed this “tiered release” violated federal securities laws, and that on the same day he told company executives that he had contacted federal investigators about the matter.

“By releasing the product to ultra low-latency subscribers two seconds early, those subscribers have a two-second head start to make transactions,” he said in the complaint.

Rosenblum said he was fired on 3 August from his job as a redistribution specialist, without severance, for engaging in protected whistle-blowing activity. He is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

“We believe the accusations from the complainant against Thomson Reuters to be unsubstantiated and without merit, and we will defend against them vigorously,” a company spokesman said in a statement. ■