KILLEEN, TX – While media organizations depend on their reporters’ abilities to expose issues of public concern, a journalist at the Killeen Daily Herald found themselves out of a job when they complained to the newspaper’s management that they believed fleas had infested their workplace, leaving them with bug bites.

Following a whistleblower investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the paper, owned by Frank Mayborn Enterprises Inc., after the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company violated federal laws that protect workers who report workplace safety and health issues.

OSHA determined that in May and June 2021, the reporter sent messages to company management complaining about the infestation - and the bug bites. The worker then had the bugs examined and learned they identified as “no-see-ums” or “biting midges.” After sharing this additional information with Killeen Daily Herald management, the company responded by terminating the reporter.

“Rather than addressing an employee’s concerns about the safety and health of their workplace, the Killeen Daily Herald terminated their reporter who sought to prevent workplace exposure to unknown diseases carried by the insects,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin in Dallas. “The U.S. Department of Labor investigates violations of federal whistleblower statutes and protects workers who exercise their right to raise safety concerns without the fear of...

Read Full Story: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20220829-0