But Uber is warning Levandowski that he may lose his job unless he waives those rights and reveals whether he took any Waymo documents. The San Francisco company made the threat in a May 15 letter that became public in a court filing late Thursday.
Any admission by Levandowski that he possesses the Waymo documents could embroil him in even deeper legal trouble. That’s because Waymo’s allegations in the civil case have been referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Francisco for a potential criminal investigation under an unusual order issued last week by U.S. District Judge William Alsup.
Uber had been standing by Levandowski’s right use his Fifth Amendment protections until last week when Alsup issued another decision requiring the company to return any documents belonging to Waymo by May 31.
Alsup wrote that “in complying with this order, Uber has no excuse under the Fifth Amendment to pull any punches as to Levandowski.”
Uber alluded to Alsup’s stern language in its explaining its change of heart to Levandowski.
“While we have respected your personal liberties, it is our view that the court’s order requires us to make these demands of you,” Uber’s general counsel, Salle Yoo, wrote in the letter.
