A former BNP Paribas SA trader who was fired after employees accused him of “emotional terrorism” that created “a feeling of waterboarding,” is suing his previous employer for $4 million for being unfairly dismissed, according to a report.

The former head of BNP’s equity derivatives sales in Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, Omar Alami, was fired in 2019 from his Paris-based job after he publicly called a junior employee “useless” and “incompetent” for what appeared to be a nearly million dollar loss, Bloomberg reported.

The bank investigated the public shaming incident and found Alami had a history of terrorizing his subordinates.

“The repeated humiliations had the effect of degrading his working conditions for several months,” an attorney for BNP said, “Witnesses say he was very affected, that he came to the office in tears, expressing a feeling of deep unease.”

The attorney emphasized the firm wants to encourage employees to speak up about inappropriate behavior. “It’s quite rare for people on trading floors to speak up,” the lawyer added. And noted BNP wants to take “all measures to protect its employees,”

Alami defended himself in court, testifying, “I was never humiliating, I was never insulting or aggressive.”

Since his ouster, he’s found a new job but struggled to adapt, “I earn 60% less and spend 60% less time with my family,” he said.

Ironically, the trade that Alami believed had cost the firm $872,000 — and led to the outburst that ultimately cost him his job — didn’t turn out to lose the company money.

The court is expected to announce its ruling May 17.

The lawsuit comes as the industry re-examines what behavior is appropriate in a high-pressure environment where billions of dollars are at stake every day.

In London, a trader is suing UBS, alleging employees at the firm yell and that UBS has a “toxic environment.” The Swiss bank defended the company culture saying, the stress “is the unavoidable reality of the work of a City trader.”