California founder fired for ignoring his company’s own return-to-office mandate

The co-founder of a California-based $8 billion asset management firm was terminated for failing to comply with his own return-to-office policy. William Nieporte, who served as the chief compliance officer at Bramshill Investments for approximately ten years, was let go in 2022 for not showing up at the company’s Southern California offices.

Nieporte, along with his high school classmates Stephen Selver and Art DeGaetano, founded Bramshill Investments. The trio issued an email to employees in 2022, mandating a return to the office five days a week by July or face termination. This directive was part of the company’s efforts, like many others, to transition employees back to the office post the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the policy, Nieporte did not report to the office, leading to his termination as stated in a letter from the co-owners. This incident marked a rare case of an executive facing consequences for opting to work remotely.

Nieporte subsequently filed a lawsuit against Bramshill’s human resources department, alleging that the return-to-office policy was used as an excuse to remove him from his position and claim his 12% stake in the company. The lawsuit contends that the policy did not apply to ownership, hence Nieporte’s decision to disregard it.

In his lawsuit, Nieporte seeks at least $30 million in damages, including lost earnings, profits, and the value of his stake in the firm.

Nieporte’s lawyer, Matthew Press, argued that the policy was not grounds for termination, emphasizing that it only pertained to employees. Nieporte had been residing in San Ramon, California, far from Bramshill’s nearest office in Newport Beach, with the approval of his co-founders since 2017.

Despite attempts by his co-founders to buy him out in 2021, Nieporte was fired in 2022 for not adhering to the return-to-office policy. He now works remotely for a startup in Nevada.