Deere Agrees to Pay Whistleblower

Deere has agreed to pay a former employee $275,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit.

The suit was brought last year by the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of a pipe fitter who alleged he was fired in 2012 in retaliation for reporting unsafe working conditions at the Moline facility and filing a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Deere did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to pay the pipe fitter $111,512 in back wages, $92,803 in compensation instead of rehiring him, and $70,685 in damages.

The unnamed former employee reported unsafe working conditions on three occasions to OSHA. Subsequent investigations by OSHA cited hazards at the facility spanning from 2010 to 2012.

As part of the settlement, Deere is required to post OSHA’s “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” poster and OSHA’s “Your Rights as a Whistleblower” fact sheet at all its workplaces.  

Source: Chicago Tribune