Ray Barker, a weatherization employee of the Genesee County Community Action Resource Department in Colorado, won a $250,000 settlement in his case claiming wrongful termination after warning of potentially exposing himself and customers to asbestos. GCCARD is a local county department organization that assists low income residents. One of the services they provide is weatherization to homes as part of reducing energy costs to homeowners.
Ray Barker was in charge of installing insulation for home owners as part of that free program to help homeowners who need new insulation but cannot afford to pay. He would remove and replace old insulation, usually from older homes. He became aware that most insulation in any home built before 1980 contained asbestos, a harmful fiber that causes serious illnesses such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.
Barker informed his employers that he suspected the old insulation to contain a form of asbestos called vermiculite, a mineral that come from a mine in Libby, Montana and used in the majority of insulations. He also informed them that he believed the process of removing it was creating a risk of exposure to all in the vicinity. Shortly after bringing this to his employer’s attention, he was fired from his job.
Barker filed a lawsuit, which was recently settled in his favor. A whistleblower lawsuit is when a person, or group of people, raises an alert about an alleged wrongdoing that is putting the general public at risk. In this case, Barker was afraid that the not only the removing but also installation of new insulation that still contained vermiculite created a danger to homeowners of exposure and the potential to develop asbestos related diseases.
The Executive Director of GCCARD, Steven Walker, denied that Barker was fired for pointing out the risk, and also that Barker is exaggerating the danger. Walker points out that GCCARD researched the issue and made necessary changes to the process to ensure safety.
In the end, GCCARD now provides warnings to homeowners, training for workers, and safer installation procedures and Barker received a settlement in his favor.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 at 11:29 am and is filed under Asbestos Exposure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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