Cardington - Morrow County: Donald Lee, who was “instrumental” in uncovering a manufacturer’s illegal disposal of hazardous chemicals into [Cardington, Ohios] public water supply, did not meet the reporting requirements mandated by statute to receive whistleblower protection when he accused his employer also of violating law, according to the court. [...] The Ohio Revised Code protects employees from disciplinary or retaliatory action when they find and report certain violations by their employers or other employees. Justice Judith French said an employee must strictly comply with the requirements of the statute to obtain protection as a whistleblower. In the high court’s judgment, she states Lee did not report crimes involving the village or report them in strict compliance with the Ohio Revised Code. In 2000, Lee noticed equipment problems and unusual accumulations of foam at the village’s wastewater treatment plant and contacted the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. After an inspection in 2007, the OEPA ruled out the plant as the source of the contamination. The U.S. EPA became involved and determined Cardington Yutaka Technologies, a manufacturer of automobile parts and the village’s largest employer, was responsible for the pollutant, glycol, in the water supply. [...] Lee worried that because the plant could not filter out the glycol the chemical was continuing through to Whetstone Creek, which supplies drinking water to water plants downstream. He also worried that if the village waited to repair the damage the plant might exceed the limits in its operating permit for discharging sewage. Lee expressed his concerns at village council meetings in September and December 2008. The village fired Lee in June 2009, citing alleged incidents of insubordination, failure to complete jobs, personal use of village property, and taking time off without notice, according to the Ohio Supreme Court opinion. Lee alleged the the village retaliated against him for reporting the problems at the wastewater treatment plant, his opposition to some of the proposals and projects offered by the village, and his support of the EPA’s work. He filed a lawsuit against the village in October 2009 in Morrow County Common Pleas Court. Read more at: mansfieldnewsjournal/story/news/local/2014/12/18/cardington-employee-whistleblower-qualified/20610605/
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 21:44:36 +0000
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