CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority has been ordered to pay thousands of dollars to a former employee who raised concerns about its nuclear safety.
News outlets report the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Monday also ordered the nation’s largest public utility to rehire the whistleblower.
The order states the employee is owed more than $123,000 in back wages and nearly $34,000 in compensatory damages. The employee’s name wasn’t released.
OSHA says the worker was placed on administrative leave when she raised questions, and was later fired. The agency has ordered the TVA to refrain from retaliating against the worker again.
TVA Chief Nuclear Officer Tim Rausch says its whistleblower program is being improved. An attorney has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review the program before it’s implemented.
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