On April 11, 2011, the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) found that the moving and storage company Parker K. Bailey & Sons, Inc. of Waterville fired Rodney Witham because he blew the whistle on the company’s illegal deductions from employees’ pay. According to Mr. Witham and another witness, he complained…
On February 4, 2011, Judge Woodcock, of the U.S. District Court in Bangor, ruled that a jury could reasonably find that Correctional Medical Services, Inc. fired a whistleblower named Thomas Halkett because he blew the whistle on Correctional Medical Services’ (CMS) allegedly unlawful activity. CMS provides health care to prison…
On January 19, 2011, Judge Woodcock, of the U.S. District Court in Bangor, ruled that a jury could reasonably find that Crisis & Counseling Centers, Inc. fired a whistleblower named Ellen Gammon because she blew the whistle on Crisis & Counseling’s allegedly illegal and unsafe business practices. Crisis & Counseling…
Nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center (“EMMC”) went on strike November 22, 2010 because they and EMMC have not reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. The nurses’ union and hospital management cannot reach agreement on the issue of staffing levels. The nurses believe that EMMC has dangerously cut…
Fred Cyr, the former chief operator of Gardiner’s waste-water treatment plant, claims that the city forced him out of his job because he complained about health and safety issues at the plant. More specifically, he claims that he complained about vandalism which, in some instances, caused raw sewage to leak…
On October 13, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Kasten v. St. Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. In Kasten, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chicago, held that St. Gobain did not violate the law when it retaliated against Mr. Kasten because he complained about St. Gobain’s…
On May 24, 2010, a Cumberland County Superior Court jury awarded Michael Afthim $1,015,000 in damages in connection with Mr. Afthim’s lawsuit against his former employer, Alternative Labor Resources (“ALR”) for violating Mr. Afthim’s rights under the Maine Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and defamation. Mr. Afthim was a superintendent employed by…
There are federal and state laws that protect truck drivers in Maine who refuse to operate illegally. For instance, if you have refused to drive longer than the DOT allows, refused to doctor your logbook, refused to drive an unsafe truck, or complained about violations of DOT regulations, the law…
The Maine Supreme Court issued its decision in a whistleblower case, Maine Human Rights Commission et al. v. Saddleback, Inc. et al., on July 16, 2009. The Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) brought this case against Saddleback claiming that Saddleback had violated Maine’s Whistleblower Protection Act (MWPA). The MWPA prohibits…