UPS pays $254,000 to fired whistleblower

[Omaha Steve]

Source: WWTI-TV

UPS is paying over a quarter of a million dollars to a former employee they fired for reporting unsafe conditions at its Watertown facility.

Daniel Peterson of Redwood filed suit against United Parcel Service Inc. in February of last year alleging he was fired for complaining about the company's trucks and for taking defective trucks out of service against management's orders. Peterson, a mechanic for the company said the trucks had cracked and rusted out frames and were unsafe to drive.

Peterson claimed he removed inspection stickers from four trucks in March 2006 because of cracked frames. Four days later, he was fired for what the company termed "falsification of company and legal documents, poor workmanship in the repairs you made to the vehicles and failure to follow methods and procedures."

The Department of Labor announced this morning terms of the deal with UPS. Peterson will receive $254,000 from UPS, and the company will post OSHA Whistleblower fact sheets and agree to not prevent whistleblowers from coming forward. The company admitted no guilt in the settlement.


Read more: http://www.newswatch50.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=34dc5bb9-458a-4bb0-8fc3-85fed15fa612