A health care center will pay back wages to three employees who were terminated after attempting to respond to tuberculosis exposure in the workplace.  Under a consent judgment with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford, Connecticut, will pay lost wages to an interim senior vice-president for operations, a director of nursing, and a Healthy Start program coordinator who attempted to raise awareness among employees, managers and the public regarding potential dangers after the exposure.  The workers were terminated two months later, an action that was deemed retaliatory after an OSHA investigation led to the conclusion that their conduct was protected under federal workplace safety law.

 

Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide workplace health and safety information to the employer or to the government.  The consent judgment, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, stipulates that Charter Oak Health Center will pay lost wages in the amounts of $85,000, $30,000, and $10,000, less taxes, to the three workers.  The Center will also provide neutral letters of reference for them.  It will post a notice informing employees about their rights as whistleblowers, and will provide workers with individual notifications as well.