The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that a whistle-blower fired by URS Energy and Construction is entitled to a trial by jury, reinstating his wrongful dismissal lawsuit, which had been rejected by a lower court in 2012.
The appeals court ruled that the U.S. Department of Energy was properly dropped as a defendant, but said the case should continue against URS, which was a subcontractor under primary contractor Bechtel National at a $12.2 billion project to build a vitrification plant at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Benton, County Washington, on the Columbia River.
Walt Tamosaitis, who was the research and technology manager for the project, complained about safety being compromised by forging ahead with construction while technology issues needed to be resolved.
Construction of the plant has since stopped for similar considerations, the Oregonian reported.
While the lower court ruled that URS was acting under the direction provided by Bechtel, the appeals court said that a jury could decide that URS could have acted independently and kept Tamosaitis on the job.
The Hanford Nuclear Reservation has a storied history in the development of the country's nuclear weapons and power industries dating back to 1943. It now houses one of the nation's largest collections of radioactive waste.
The wrongful dismissal case is expected to start next year, said the plaintiff's attorney Jack Sheridan.