A former employee sufficiently alleged that he made a good faith report of a violation of law to his employer prior to his termination for a claim under the
Whistleblower Protection Statute, the Western District of the U.S. District Court of Virginia has ruled, denying a motion to dismiss.
While conducting a safety audit, Chris Wimmer observed what he believed were violations of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Virginia
Occupational Safety
and Health regulations, as well as general workplace safety rules at a New Millennium Building Systems (NMBS) plant.
After he was fired, Wimmer sued NMBS, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated for raising safety concerns and that his termination constituted unlawful retaliation in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Statute, Va. Code §§ 40.1-27.3 and 40.1-51.2:1.
NMBS moved to dismiss, but the court denied the motion.
“Simply put, Wimmer alleges that he witnessed a procedure that ‘presented a significant safety risk’ that could cause death or serious harm to an employee using a forklift,” Senior U.S. District Court Judge Michael F. Urbanski wrote. “He further alleges that the procedure ran afoul of workplace safety statutes requiring employers to provide a workplace free from ‘hazards … causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm’ and the regulations designed to mitigate those hazards from forklifts. Taking all factual allegations as true and making all reasonable inferences in his...
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