By Steve Kardell | Published April 7, 2022 | Posted in Whistleblower Litigation | Tagged Tags: covid-19, healthcare, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), OSHA |
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic approximately two years ago there has been a steep increase in the number of whistleblower lawsuits filed against healthcare employers. With the significant rise in litigation, it has become more important than ever for employers in this field to make sure they are properly navigating COVID-related issues and Read More
Read MoreIn a September article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a whistleblower alleges executives of St. Therese of New Hope nursing home instructed staff to ignore protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The whistleblower was Brooke Peoples, who previously worked as an administrator at the facility in New Hope, Minnesota. She claims the instructions came from Read More
Read MoreThe Biden administration recently issued guidance that workers with long-term, lingering symptoms of COVID-19 may be protected under federal disability laws. This guidance brings forth a new area of concern for employers: that they may become targets of litigation if they discriminate against or fail to accommodate a person with such lingering symptoms. About the Read More
Read MoreA former employee of Amazon claims she was fired from the company’s sorting center in Thornton, Colorado after repeatedly raising concerns about the COVID-19 risks in the facility. In response, she filed a whistleblower complaint with the state’s labor department that could lead to a lawsuit. Case background The employee, Linda Rodriguez, said her concerns Read More
Read MoreSome of the largest unions in the state of Texas recently renewed a push to get lawmakers to overhaul the employment insurance system in the state and to ensure workers’ compensation for employees who were exposed to the COVID-19 virus while on the job. According to these unions, state legislators need to take more concrete Read More
Read MoreA whistleblower claims he was wrongfully terminated from his position after repeatedly raising his concerns about COVID-19 protocols at Trojan Battery Co. in Santa Fe Springs. The company was the subject of an investigation in 2020 after a virus outbreak resulted in 61 total infections and the death of one employee. The whistleblower, John Martinez, Read More
Read MoreFormer employees of Bic Graphic recently filed a federal class action lawsuit against the company and its parent company, Scribe Opco Inc., for allegedly violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. According to the lawsuit, Bic Graphic employees spent a significant amount of 2020 on furlough, and were led to believe employees would eventually Read More
Read MoreA former marketing director who worked for Alaris Health, a health system based in New Jersey, recently filed a lawsuit against the company alleging he was the victim of wrongful termination after attempting to return to work following infection with the COVID-19 virus. The plaintiff, Shakespeare Domenech, was given a new job description at the Read More
Read MoreThis fall, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance protecting employees against retaliation for reporting violations of COVID-19 health protocols in workplaces. The county had seen a significant increase in complaints about workplace health violations over the course of the pandemic. New protections implemented in the ordinance prevent employers from taking any Read More
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge of whistleblower complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A significant portion of these complaints are related to claims of retaliation against people who blew the whistle against insufficient health and safety protocols in the wake of the pandemic. Recent reports indicate OSHA has fallen far Read More
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