whistleblower
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Federal judge sides with Teller County sheriff in whistleblower lawsuit
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A federal judge concluded last month that a whistleblower lawsuit could not succeed against Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell, nor could the related claims of retaliation lodged by a former commander in the office. Ronald “Greg” Couch worked for the sheriff’s office between 2014 and 2021. In his telling, his relationship with Mikesell began to…
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Jury to hear ex-La Plata County jail nurse’s retaliation case under new Colorado whistleblower law
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A jury will decide whether a former nurse in the La Plata County jail experienced retaliation and discrimination under a Colorado law enacted early in the COVID-19 pandemic to protect whistleblowers who raise public health concerns in the workplace. Last month, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Lewis T. Babcock acknowledged no other courts had yet…
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Federal judge agrees colleague need not recuse in case due to prior employment
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A federal judge agreed last week that her colleague, a new appointee to Colorado’s U.S. District Court after a career representing the federal government, does not need to recuse from a recent civil case brought against the government. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Prose joined the federal trial court earlier this year, appointed by the life-tenured…
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Colorado appeals court agrees CDOT worker showed agency retaliated against him
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Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last month that a Colorado Department of Transportation employee demonstrated his supervisors likely demoted him not for performance-related reasons, but because he spoke with a civil rights investigator about misconduct in the agency. Weeks after Marcus Maes shared his knowledge of multiple racist or hostile workplace incidents, his superiors elected to…
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Appeals court reinstates lawsuit of UCCS chef who alleges illegal firing
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An El Paso County jury will decide whether the University of Colorado fired an employee because he was rude, abusive and unprofessional, or because he filed a whistleblower complaint against his supervisor, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. A trial judge previously found the evidence showed Russell Allen’s supervisors were concerned about his persistently…
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Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Olympic committee over whistleblower firing
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A federal judge earlier this month rejected a request from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to dismiss a lawsuit from a former high-ranking official that alleges the organization fired him in retaliation for his whistleblowing activity. At the same time, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney denied a related request from plaintiff William…
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Federal judge tosses sprawling workplace retaliation lawsuit involving CU science program
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A federal judge has dismissed on procedural grounds a lawsuit from one University of Colorado scientist that alleged whistleblower retaliation and harassment within a prominent environmental science program, as well as more serious accusations of potential espionage and bribery. Justin J.E. Mabie works as a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,…
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Lawmakers seek to extend public health whistleblower protections after pandemic
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Legislation working its way through the state Senate would extend public health whistleblower protections beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding on protections established in 2020. If passed, Senate Bill 97 would prohibit retaliation against workers for reporting any workplace health and safety concern or violation of health and safety rules – rather than only protecting reports…
