A California appellate court recently issued a warning to employees who try to negotiate settlements with their employers by making veiled threats to report an employer's real or imagined criminal activity.  In Stenehjem v. Sareen, No. H038342 (Cal. Ct. App. June 13, 2014), the court held that an employee's pre-litigation settlement demand was extortionate where the employee threatened to expose criminal activity by filing a qui tam action under the federal False Claims Act unless the employer tendered payment.read more http://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/pay-me-or-else%E2%80%A6-california-court-rules-employees-pre-litigation-qui-ta