On Aug. 24, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) announced it has ordered Vermont dealer Champlain Valley Equipment to reinstate an employee the agency said was wrongfully terminated and pay more than $145,000 in back wages, damages and the employee’s attorneys’ fees.
According to OSHA, the employee reported Champlain Valley to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in June 2022 after observing the company pumping wastewater from its service bays at its Berlin, Vt., facility onto ground adjacent to the Winooski River. The employee, who also notified their supervisors at Champlain Valley of the situation, was terminated shortly after.
The employee subsequently filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA, and the agency’s investigation determined that Champlain Valley had violated the whistleblower provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA).