To Please Trump Administration, Instacart Illegally Violated Employee’s Rights

To Please Trump Administration, Instacart Illegally Violated Employee’s Rights

Large corporation broke their word and fired a high-performing, pregnant employee for exercising her right to run for office

December 15 – If companies are allowed to threaten employees with the loss of their livelihood for exercising the right to run for office, then the voices of all but the richest Americans will be shut out of government.

At the same time, since the 2024 elections, there has been a well-documented trend of powerful corporations bending over backwards to curry favor with the Trump Administration. This pattern exceeds normal private sector attempts to maintain relations with officeholders or promote specific policies that benefit their industry.

Lisa Vedernikova Khanna, a hard-working Instacart employee with high performance reviews, is an example of the danger millions of Americans face in both of these areas.

Khanna, the daughter of an immigrant who lived the American Dream, decided to run for Congress. Even though California law is explicit that employers do not have a say in their employees’ use the fundamental right to run for office, Khanna went above and beyond to ensure that she was being considerate towards Instacart, asking for input from her supervisor and colleagues in other relevant departments about the decision – and being clear that she would not be representing the company in any way, only herself.

Instacart told Khanna they supported her decision to run and appreciated her as a colleague; and she moved forward with preparations. But a month later, after Khanna told Instacart that she planned to stand up for reproductive rights and gun reform, Instacart broke its word. The company told Khanna they were concerned that these positions – which have no relevance to Instacart’s business – would displease the Trump Administration. 

Instacart then told Khanna that she could either abandon the campaign, or lose her job. At the same time, Khanna shared that she and her husband had just learned they were expecting their first child. An Instacart official responded to this news, “Congratulations, I guess?” Then the company fired her for not allowing them to illegally reverse their agreement.

Under California law, where Instacart is headquartered, this abuse of power is against the law. California law states that companies cannot enforce a rule or policy that prevents “employees from engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public office,” and it prohibits employers from attempting to coerce or influence its employees from adopting any particular line of political action or activity “by means of threat of discharge or loss of employment.”

Having endured significant financial and personal hardship as a direct consequence of Instacart’s illegal actions, Khanna is suing the company. With affordability being the most urgent economic issue in the United States, and when there is a backlash against the well-connected abusing their power over others, this case has implications far beyond Khanna’s individual circumstances.

Instacart should be held accountable for setting a precedent that excludes non-wealthy Americans from running for office.

“Regardless of anyone’s political views, it is wrong for a company to kick a loyal employee to the curb because they choose to run for political office,” said Lisa Vedernikova Khanna. “Instacart is trying to set a standard that would make it near impossible for working Americans to run for political office. No one should be forced to choose between their job and their participation in political activity.”

Khanna is represented by Linda M. Correia and Andrew M. Adelman of Correia & Puth, PLLC, and Bryan Schwartz and Erica Posey of Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C.