The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that four Nevada officials can be sued for allegedly scuttling an investigation into a retaliation complaint filed by a whistleblower who worked at Ear Nose and Throat Associates (ENTA) in Las Vegas, NV.
Helen Armstrong, a human resources supervisor at ENTA, reported the health and safety violations at ENTA in 2014 to the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NOSHA), a state agency, when ENTA failed to take action. She alleged, among other things, the practice reused contaminated syringes and sold expired prescriptions.
NOSHA investigated and issued ENTA a fine.
ENTA allegedly immediately began retaliating against Armstrong, who had worked there for 23 years, and eventually fired her in 2016.
In an important ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco, has ruled that “at will” employees like Armstrong have a limited property interest in their job and can’t be fired for a “prohibited reason” like reporting health and safety violations to NOSHA.
Continue reading “Appeals Ct: NV Officials On The Hook For Failing To Investigate Worker’s Complaint”