Nuclear Whistleblower Successful

In a rare victory for whistleblower rights, a painter won his whistleblower lawsuit five years after being fired by his contractor bosses for reporting a possible safety concern at a nuclear power plant in Alabama. The Department of Labor Administrative Review Board ordered that the case be returned to the administrative law judge, who will determine how much compensation the whistleblower should receive. GAP Senior Counsel Richard Condit put the decision in perspective:  

“An attorney with the Washington-based Government Accountability Project, which promotes whistleblowing to reveal government and corporate wrongdoing, said it was "somewhat unusual" for the Labor Department board to order compensation after ruling for a whistleblower.

‘With respect to this particular board, we have noticed over the last seven to eight years it has not been kind to employees," said Richard Condit, senior counsel with the organization.’”

The company could appeal the decision to the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., or try to settle with Speegle, Condit said.