School District to Reinstate, Pay $102,905 to Whistleblower

Tuesday, February 4, 2020 | 0

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered the Dearborn Heights School District to pay more than $100,000 to an employee wrongfully terminated in retaliation for reporting unsafe working conditions.

OSHA ordered the school district to reinstate the worker and pay $102,905.78 in back wages, damages and other compensation.

The employee served as a key witness for federal investigators in a 2012 whistleblower complaint from a janitor who alleged workers and students were exposed to asbestos at the public school. In the fall of 2016, the employee also reported potential exposure to pesticides to the Michigan Environmental Protection Agency.

OSHA said its investigation found the district publicly disputed both employees’ complaints, as well as media reports about the potential exposures. The district allegedly maintained a link on its website to information saying the workers made false claims and created a public health scare. The district website also stated that it had the right to fire whistleblowers, which OSHA said is a clear violation of federal law.

OSHA said both workers were fired following a lengthy discipline campaign that started in 2016 after the agency ruled the director of operations and construction management for the school district failed to train workers on asbestos hazards.

An administrative law judge ordered the district, as part of a settlement, to pay the former janitor $210,261 in back wages and damages in February 2018.