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

The co-founder of an $8 billion asset management firm with offices in the Golden State was fired for not complying with his own return-to-office policy after failing to show up at the company’s Southern California offices.

William Nieporte, who worked as chief compliance officer for Bramshill Investments for about a decade before being fired in 2022, ran the firm with two high school classmates, Stephen Selver and Art DeGaetano. 

In 2022, the three co-founders issued an email to staff ordering them back to one of the firm’s three offices, five days a week, by July or face termination. Bramshill was one of many companies at the time time trying to get employees back to the office after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

A few months later, Nieporte received a termination letter reviewed by the Wall Street Journal from the other co-owners stating that he “willfully and deliberately failed to report to ‘in-person’ work.”

It’s one of the few instances where an executive has faced discipline for working remotely.

Nieporte filed a lawsuit this past May against Bramshill’s human resources company, claiming the return-to-office policy was an excuse to usurp him from his role — and claim his 12% stake in the firm. The policy presumably did not apply to ownership, so he “appropriately ignored the email,” according to the suit.

He is seeking at least $30 million in lost earnings, profits and the value of his 12% stake, according to the suit.

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Nieporte’s attorney, Matthew Press, said the policy was not a valid reason for termination and only applied to employees. Nieporte was living in San Ramon, California, hundreds of miles away from the company’s closest office in Newport Beach.

The filing claims that Nieporte moved to San Ramon in 2017 with approval from his two co-founders. But soon after, the pair allegedly tried to force him out and offered to buy him out in 2021.

The next year, after the July return-to-office deadline, DeGaetano wrote to Nieporte: “We have both junior and senior employees commuting over one hour each way to work, and yet you feel this policy doesn’t apply to you.”. 

DeGaetano gave his partner 30 days to correct course, though Nieporte claimed the notice wasn’t valid because it had to be delivered by hand, fax or mail. Nieporte then revived discussions of a buyout, but was fired before the month was done, according to the filing.

A spokesperson for Bramshill told the Wall Street Journal that Nieporte was fabricating accusations and that the legal process would show the other co-owners did not do anything wrong.

Nieporte now works remotely for a Nevada startup.