http://www.app.com/article/20100407/NEWS/100407117/NJ-Transit-ordered-to-pay-employee-570G-in-whistleblower-caseA New Jersey Transit employee has received a record $569,587 award after a federal investigation found that NJ Transit illegally retaliated against the Clifton man — resulting in his losing his home, car and credit rating — for reporting an injury to another worker.
The award ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor stems from a February 2008 incident on NJ Transit's Morris & Essex line in which one man was killed and four others injured when a contractor's crew came in contact with live, overhead wires.
The Labor Department concluded that NJ Transit violated a federal whistleblower law by its actions against its employee who reported the incident, Anthony Araujo. The two-year old law was designed to prevent management from retaliating against rail workers who report safety issues or injuries.
The lion's share of the award goes to compensate Araujo for almost 12 months of lost pay after he was suspended in October 2008, including $345,754 for the loss of his home which was foreclosed on, the repossession of his car and the damage to his credit rating, said the April 6 Labor Department report. Only $17,915 was awarded for attorney's fees.
This is the largest award so far under the Federal Rail Safety Act, said Ted Fitzgerald, Occupational Safety and Health Administration spokesman.
"This is unprecedented. They're just trying to make him whole," said Araujo's attorney, Charles Goetsch, who specializes in railroad law. "He's lost his credit standing for seven years and the financial and emotional distress of losing his home and his car, and what did he do wrong? He reported an injury."
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