Settlement one of the largest Indiana Department of Labor has obtained for illegally terminated worker
INDIANAPOLIS – After being sued by the State for illegally terminating a whistleblower, the Michigan City Sanitary District has agreed to pay the ex-employee a $215,000 settlement, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and Labor Commissioner Lori Torres announced today.
The settlement, approved by the defendants today, is believed to be the largest amount an employer has paid for violating whistleblower-protection laws under state statute in the recent history of the Indiana Department of Labor, which administers the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA). And according to the OSHA Region V office in Chicago, such a $215,000 settlement amount also would be substantial by the standards of the U.S. Department of Labor for what is termed an 11(c) OSHA violation.
“Worker safety issues should not be ignored, nor should anyone face the loss of their job for seeking to correct unsafe working conditions. No one is above the law, and that includes local government entities. If they engage in illegal workplace retaliation against employees, they will face swift enforcement of the law by the State of Indiana,†Zoeller said.
“This settlement sends a strong message to Hoosier workers that IOSHA will protect those who step forward to expose unsafe or unhealthy conditions in the workplace,” said Torres, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor. “This agency places the highest priority on protecting Hoosier workers as evidenced by increased IOSHA inspections, citations, and employer participation in our voluntary safety programs in 2010.”
In this case, the worker, Ron Meer, was employed by the Michigan City Sanitary District but was wrongfully terminated from his position in April after he made three complaints about unsafe working conditions at the MCSD treatment facility and about retaliation he received for previously expressing safety concerns.
Meer then lodged a grievance against his ex-employer with the Indiana Department of Labor, which enforces state occupational safety and health laws. The department investigated and found Meer’s complaint had merit.
The attorney general, representing the commissioner of the Department of Labor, filed a lawsuit June 29 in LaPorte Circuit Court against the municipal government of Michigan City and its Sanitary District. Under Indiana Code 22-8-1.1-38.1, the labor commissioner can bring a lawsuit against an employer for illegally terminating a worker for reporting workplace safety and health violations. The lawsuit sought compensatory and punitive damages for Meer for his lost wages and benefits.
The defendants denied the claims; but rather than take the case to trial they agreed to settle all claims in favor of the State. Terms of their settlement are as follows:
The Michigan City Sanitary District will pay Meer, the former employee, a total $215,000 in damages, half now and half in January 2011.
The Sanitary District will provide a neutral job reference for Meer, who agrees to not seek re-hiring by the District.
The Sanitary District agrees to injunctive relief, including posting a standard notice advising its employees of their rights.
Zoeller drew a connection between his enforcement of Indiana’s workplace-safety statutes and his separate effort to encourage whistleblowers to come forward and report Medicaid fraud by healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies under the False Claims Act.
“Although the two statutes are intended to stop different categories of unlawful acts, they both underscore the important role of whistleblowers. Attempts to silence these courageous individuals through workplace retaliation will be strongly resisted by the State of Indiana,†Zoeller said. “The $215,000 settlement will send a powerful message to other employers about the necessity of following the law.â€
The Meer settlement is greater than many other settlements of its type. Between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2010, the Indiana Department of Labor – which investigates one type of whistleblower activity — has obtained settlements in 36 similar cases where defendants agreed to pay a combined total of $64,000.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Region V office in Chicago, the Region V Whistleblower Program – which investigates 17 types of whistleblower activity — has recovered approximately $3.5 million in damage awards for approximately 800 complainants in the past two years through the OSHA 11(c) investigative process. Compared to those previous settlements, the $215,000 settlement to Meer therefore would be a substantial one, the OSHA office reported.
