Fired worker gets $1.2 million after his company said he was insane
April 8, 2008 by Fred HosierPosted in: Dubious decisions, Here comes the judge, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, They said what?
A worker reported a hazardous condition that could’ve caused an explosion. His employer’s response: He’s crazy.
Worker: I found toxic hazards here at work. Company: You must be crazy.
And the company meant it, literally.
Jack Seddon was a worker at a DuPont Company plant in New Jersey for 30 years.
In 2003, he turned DuPont in to OSHA, saying a reactor he operated was corroded and in danger of leaking a substance that would burn the eyes and respiratory system.
After Seddon filed the complaint, DuPont referred him to a company therapist, who recommended suspending Seddon for two months with pay.
Several independent psychologists found Seddon to be mentally sound.
He retired from his job the next year, and the company replaced the reactor in question.
Seddon also sued the company. At trial, an expert said if the reactor had leaked even just 10% of its contents, it would have caused a lethal plume measuring 1,000 feet by 1,000 feet.
Recently, a jury awarded him $1.2 million, according to local media reports. The suit claimed DuPont violated New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act, which forbids employers from taking retaliatory action against workers who report they believe is illegal to managers or authorities.
Tags: fired worker, jury award, toxic hazards, whistleblower
April 20th, 2008 at 11:04 am
The case of the hapless DuPont worker, Jack Seddon, with his good-faith safety concerns for himself, his co-workers and neighbours surrounding DuPont’s aging plant in Deepwater, New Jersey, spotlights the rotten-to-the Core Values of DuPont’s IMAGE-obsessed Management! …funfun..
July 24th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Fast forward to July 2010. DuPont Management has been caught and fined by OSHA for a multitude of serious and other workplace violations at the Chambers sister plant in West Virginia, the DuPont chemical factory in Belle. OSHA caught DuPont Management cooking their safety books, illegally failing to update and maintain OSHA-mandated injury/illness logs.
Back in January of this year, there were three serious toxic leaks at Belle in a single week, one of which fatally showered a veteran DuPont chemical operator with deadly phosgene gas from an uninspected flex hose showing obvious wear and fraying. Phosgene? Why, that’s the same World War I warfare gas at issue at DuPont’s Chambers of Horror Works in Deadwater, New Jersey in the Seddon case.
Evidence continues to mount that one of the rotten-to-the-CORE VALUES of the disreputable DuPont of the 21st century is SHAM SAFETY. And SHAM SAFETY exposes unsuspecting workers as well as men, women and children living in neighbourhoods nearby to potential catastrophic toxic dangers. …funfun..