A North Carolina state worker, who spent his career working on workplace health and safety issues, claims he was let go for reporting asbestos violations inside his own office building.
Gilbert Jackson, who until April was general counsel for the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, has filed a complaint with the state labor department. He says he was forced to retire because of asbestos reports.
The full story is reported on the Charlotte Observer’s website, Oct. 21, 2008 (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/421/story/267408.html).
According to the story, Gilbert discovered workers taking air samples for an asbestos removal project in the 37-year old building he and other of his NC-OSHRC colleagues had recently occupied. Officials never warned the employees that there was an asbestos removal project underway, as the law required.
Asbestos exposure, usually breathing fibers, is the primary cause of mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of cancer.
When Gilbert objected, he says was subjected to retaliation and forced to take early retirement. NC-OSHRC denies Gilbert was forced out. Building officials said tests showed the asbestos levels were minuscule, posing no threat to any of the building’s occupants.
Gilbert has filed a complaint under the state’s Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act, which prohibits employers from punishing workers for reporting unsafe working conditions.
Tags: Asbestos, asbestos exposure, cancer, Mesothelioma, OSHA