Under fire, two HR directors take a bold stand – find out what happened when they challenged company leadership
Two HR directors claim they were fired for refusing to hide illegal hiring at a Georgia construction firm, reviving a major lawsuit on October 31, 2025.
According to the complaint, Amy Weaver was hired as the first human resources director for G. S. Construction, Inc. in March 2023. She alleges she discovered that many employees could not be established as lawfully present or entitled to work in the United States. Weaver claims she found fake social security cards, handwritten social security numbers, and fake permanent resident cards, which she believed indicated the company was assisting employees in committing identity fraud.
Weaver states she informed company president Alessandro Salvo that she could not keep those documents and warned that if payroll included unauthorized workers, she would report it to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Salvo allegedly told her to leave the files in his office and that he would “take care of it.” Weaver says she reiterated that unauthorized employees needed to be terminated and that if they remained on payroll, she would have to report the matter to authorities. She was terminated the following week.
Less than a month later, the company hired Steven Wommack as the second human resources director. Wommack claims he noticed irregular paperwork for numerous workers and employees using names and identities that were not their own. He alleges that when he raised these issues, Salvo instructed him to “find a way” to keep the employees who were not legally authorized to work in the United States.
Wommack says he attempted to regularize the immigration status of some employees by contacting attorneys and identifying immigration resources. In August 2023, Wommack informed Salvo that unauthorized employees would need to provide work authorization credentials by October 1 or face termination. He also stated that if the company did not take action, he would have to report the matter to immigration authorities.
Additionally, Wommack alleges he discovered that G. S. Construction had provided a fraudulent drug screen to assist an employee in a child custody matter. He claims he informed Salvo that the court may have received false or fraudulent documents and explained that it was illegal to assist in creating false evidence. Wommack was terminated a few days later.
After their terminations, Weaver and Wommack filed a civil RICO complaint under Georgia law, alleging that their dismissals were intended to prevent them from reporting the company’s alleged illegal activities to law enforcement. The trial court dismissed their claims, but the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed that decision on October 31, 2025. The appellate court found that the amended complaint sufficiently alleged direct acts of racketeering – such as threats and economic harm – intended to deter the plaintiffs from reporting alleged criminal activity, allowing the civil RICO claim to proceed.
The case now returns to the trial court for further proceedings. The outcome is not final, but the appellate decision signals that HR professionals who allege retaliation for refusing to participate in or conceal unlawful practices may have grounds to pursue legal remedies under Georgia’s RICO statute, if they can show direct harm from such acts.
