The court here expresses concern that, if Dr. Milton were permitted to win, it would open a “Pandora’s box,” with “every corporate officer fired in the wake of a disagreement over an employer’s business practices” a potential successful plaintiff. Reframe this argument.

What is at stake here for employers?

Milton voiced his concerns to IITRI management, to no avail. In 1995, after similar allegations by a competitor, IITRI initiated an internal examination of the issue. In connection with this inquiry, IITRI received an outside opinion letter concluding that the IRS could well deem some of IITRI’s projects unrelated business activities and that the income from these activities was likely taxable. Milton urged the President of IITRI, John Scott, to take action in response to the letter, but Scott refused. Milton raised the issue with IITRI’s Treasurer, who agreed that IITRI was improperly claiming unrelated business income as exempt income and promised to remedy the problem after Scott’s then-imminent retirement.
However, this retirement did not come to pass. Finally, in November 1996, when Scott falsely indicated to IITRI’s board of governors that IITRI had no problem with unrelated business income, Milton reported the falsity of these statements to Lew Collens, Chairman of the Board of IITRI, and informed Collens of the opinion letter.
On January 1, 1997, Scott called Milton at home and informed him that he had been relieved of his Group Vice President title and demoted to his previous position as supervisor of TSMI. On February 12, 1997, Milton’s attorney contacted IITRI about the demotion, alleging that it was unlawful retaliation for informing management of IITRI’s unlawful practices. Two days later … Milton received a letter from Collens terminating his employment with IITRI.