A local church fired a whistleblower for reporting unsanitary conditions and now must pay $30,000.
A nutrition specialist at a local Dallas childcare facility run by New Mount Zion Baptist Church accused the church of wrongful termination. The church fired the employee after raising concerns about rodents, insects, spiders, and rodent droppings in the kitchen and cafeteria.
Food safety worsened when an air conditioner broke during the summer and was not promptly repaired.
The employee filed a complaint with the Dallas County Health Department (DCHD) on August 26, 2021. A Health Inspector arrived at the childcare facility the same day to inspect conditions, and New Mount Zion fired the employee on August 27, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Labor notified New Mount Zion of a complaint made for wrongful termination in September 2021, according to a recent press release. The allegation was then investigated by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
New Mount Zion wrongfully terminated the employee in “an attempt to silence” the employee and “send a message to other employees not to complain,” OSHA concluded.
The Labor Department has ordered the church to reinstate the employee and compensate them with $11,000 in back pay, interest, and $20,000 in additional damages “for pain and suffering, including emotional, financial, and mental distress.”
The church was also ordered not to make “negative references” about the whistleblower “to any prospective future employers” and to “not retaliate or discriminate” against the employee “in any manner.”
Eric S. Harbin, OSHA’s regional administrator in Dallas, said, “New Mount Zion Baptist Church’s actions toward the employee are unacceptable and deeply concerning.”
“The existence of rodents and insects in food preparation and serving areas poses a health hazard,” he continued. “The employee had the legal right to express apprehensions about the unhygienic surroundings and should not have been fired for doing so.”
The Dallas Express reached out to New Mount Zion for comment and received a response that the church’s attorney could provide a statement. The Dallas Express then contacted the attorney, but he did not respond by press time.