The Kentucky Whistleblower's Act protects employees that threaten to report wrongdoing within a government agency, department or cabinet, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled in Consolidated Infrastructure Management Authority, Inc. v. Allen, No. 2006-SC-000188-DG (November 26, 2008).
Thomas Allen was the Safety Director for Consolidated Infrastructure Management Authority, a joint venture of the cities of Russellville and Auburn to administer water and sewer services. During an inspection of the facilities he noticed numerous safety violations and twice reported them to CIMA's Board of Directors, stating that if they were not timely remedied he would request a survey from OSHA. Three months after his second report to the Board, Allen was told that he was being "laid off" due to financial constraints. He then made his report to OSHA, which performed a survey, found numerous violations and imposed fines.
Allen filed suit and claimed that he was terminated in violation of the Kentucky Whistleblower's Act. CIMA argued that Allen never made an actual report to OSHA before he was terminated. The Court rejected that argument, holding that a protected "disclosure not only occurs when a report is actually made, but also when the threat of a report is made."
Robert L. Abell
