The Indiana Department of Labor is taking up the case of a whistleblower who revealed safety issues and unreported overflows at the Michigan City Sanitary District:
The suit, filed in LaPorte Circuit Court on Tuesday, alleges that Ron Meer was unlawfully fired on March 31 by the Sanitary District as retaliation for his complaints to the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Agency.
On June 3, the sanitary district was raided by at least 25 agents from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and various other agencies to investigate possible environmental crimes.
Indiana's whistleblower law doesn't sound like much. It is unlawful to discharge, deny salary or benefits, demote, transfer or reassign an employee for reporting a violation of state or federal laws, agency regulation or misuse of public resources. But a violation is only a Class A infraction, and the employee isn't protected if the information turns out to be false. But if the state takes the law seriously, it can prevent a lot of mischief.
