Pilgrim’s Pride/OSHA Settle Whistleblower Case
Posted/updated on: July 1, 2012 at 5:24 am
MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) — Federal officials say they’ve reached a settlement with Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. in a case involving an employee fired after raising environmental concerns about the East Texas chicken producer.
John M. Hermanson is regional administrator in Dallas for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He says employees must feel free to exercise their legal rights “without fear of termination or other retaliation by their employers.”
OSHA began investigating after a former Pilgrim’s Pride manager in Mount Pleasant complained of being fired for alerting the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to pollution problems. They included process and storm water discharges containing excessive amounts of chromium, lead and mercury.
Greeley, Colo.-based Pilgrim’s Pride agrees to pay its former manager $50,000. In return, the former employee won’t seek reinstatement.
