A former employee with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is suing the brokerage regulator, claiming the agency fired him in retaliation for taking several months of medical leave in 2025.
According to the complaint filed in California state court last week, Tamer Çetin was hired by FINRA in 2022 as a principal research analyst in the Chief Economist’s Office, working remotely from Oakland. Çetin had a Ph.D. in Economics, with post-doctoral work at the University of California, and “extensive expertise in econometrics, machine learning, financial data analysis and statistical modeling.”
According to Çetin, his work at FINRA “centered on complex data analysis projects utilizing advanced econometric and machine learning techniques applied to FINRA’s critical databases,” and he wrote advanced code to “extract, clean, standardize and analyze financial data.”
Though Çetin received “Partially Successful” employment reviews in 2022, 2023 and 2024, he never received formal warnings or disciplinary action, nor was he placed on a performance improvement plan, according to the complaint.
“Despite the ‘Partially Successful’ ratings, FINRA continued to assign (Çetin) to important analytical projects throughout his entire tenure, including technically sophisticated projects requiring advanced econometric and machine learning skills,” the complaint read. “The performance concerns, whatever their merit, clearly did not rise to the level warranting termination during (Çetin’s) first three years of service.”
In March 2025, Çetin developed a “serious medical condition” requiring him to take medical leave, which the agency’s third-party administrator approved. In May, his condition worsened, and he needed longer leave, with an expected return date of July 17.
Çetin returned on that day as scheduled, resumed his regular work, and for about three months, he allegedly “performed his job functions without incident,” with no formal warning, disciplinary actions or verbal counseling, with “no indication whatsoever that his position was in jeopardy or that his employment was at risk.”
However, on Oct. 15, FINRA fired him effectively immediately, stating only that FINRA was ending his employment “for unacceptable conduct.” According to Çetin, the message didn’t specify those incidents.
“The temporal proximity between (Çetin’s) return from (Family Medical Leave Act) and (California Family Rights Act) leave on July 17, 2025, and his termination on Oct. 15, 2025—just 90 days later—strongly suggests that FINRA’s decision was motivated by his disability and his exercise of protected leave rights rather than any legitimate performance or conduct issues,” the complaint read.
FINRA declined to comment for this story.
As a result, Çetin claims he continues to suffer from the loss of earnings and benefits and continues to suffer from “distress, humiliation and embarrassment.” As part of his jury trial request, Çetin is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
