The U.S. Department of Labor will pay former OSHA official Bob Whitmore $820,000 – one of the largest federal whistle-blower settlements ever approved – under a deal that will end his four-year fight against the government.
The settlement is a major victory for Whitmore, who says he was fired because he publicly criticized his agency for allowing companies to underreport workplace injuries.
Whitmore, formerly the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's top official for record keeping, was fired in 2009 after speaking to Observer reporters who were investigating dangerous conditions and workplace injuries in the poultry industry.
"I think Bob paid a very big price for people injured in the workplace," said Robert Seldon, a Washington lawyer who represented Whitmore. "The government paid a bigger price with a landmark settlement.
"There are people who are not going to get killed or injured in the workplace because of Bob Whitmore."
Whitmore, who worked for the Labor Department for 37 years, filed a complaint against the agency under the Whistleblower Protection Act, a 1989 law designed to protect federal employees who report misconduct by their agencies.
Under the settlement, approved Wednesday by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, Whitmore agreed not to seek employment with the Labor Department for 15 years.
"I regret that I'm not going to get the opportunity to finish what I set out to do," said Whitmore, who turns 66 on Thursday. "That will bug me."
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