Ron Mills, Kentucky State Regulator, Claims Firing Was in Retaliation for Blowing the Whistle on Illegal Conduct
According to news reports, Ron Mills, a longtime state regulator was fired after he refused to go along with what he believes is an illegal policy that primarily benefited a politically powerful coal company, Alliance Resource Partners.
Mills was fired last week. In an interview with the Courier Journal, Mills said that he notified his superiors last year of his belief that the policy in question was illegal.
Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones attorney Larry Jones, who has represented numerous whistleblowers, says "This appears to be a case in which Mr. Mills was illegally retaliated against because of his reports of unlawful activity. State government workers like Mr. Mills enjoy protections under the state's whistleblower statute in KRS Chapter 61. However, state government workers should be aware that there is a 90 day statute of limitations on their claims. In other works, they must file a lawsuit within 90 days after the alleged violation of Chapter 61. Unfortunately, this has been a pitfall for many wrongfully terminated employees."
The statute provides that:
No employer shall subject to reprisal, or directly or indirectly use, or threaten to use, any official authority or influence, in any manner whatsoever, which tends to discourage, restrain, depress, dissuade, deter, prevent, interfere with, coerce, or discriminate against any employee who in good faith reports, discloses, divulges, or otherwise brings to the attention of the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission, the Attorney General, the Auditor of Public Accounts, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its members or employees, the Legislative Research Commission or any of its committees, members or employees, the judiciary or any member or employee of the judiciary, any law enforcement agency or its employees, or any other appropriate body or authority, any facts or information relative to an actual or suspected violation of any law, statute, executive order, administrative regulation, mandate, rule, or ordinance of the U.S., the Commonwealth of Kentucky, or any of its political subdivisions, or any facts or information relative to actual or suspected mismanagement, waste, fraud, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. No employer shall require any employee to give notice prior to making such a report, disclosure, or divulgence.
Essentially, to prevail in a Whistleblower Act claim, the employee must prove the following four elements:
(1) the employer is the Commonwealth or one of its political subdivisions;
(2) the employee is employed by the state;
(3) the employee made a good faith report of a suspected violation of a state statute or administrative regulation to an appropriate body or authority; and
(4) the employer took action or threatened to take action to punish the employee for making this report or to discourage the employee from making this report.
The employee must also show that “the disclosure was a contributing factor in the personnel action.” Contributing factor is defined as: “any factor which, alone or in connection with other factors, tends to affect in any way the outcome of a decision. It shall be presumed there existed a ‘contributing factor’ if the official taking the action knew or had constructive knowledge of the disclosure and acted within a limited period of time so that a reasonable person would conclude the disclosure was a factor in the personnel action.” If the employee can sustain that burden, the employer must then prove that the disclosure was not a “material fact” in the personnel action. This is significant, because, at the very end of the analysis, the employer, not the employee, has the burden of proving that the disclosure or other protected conduct was not a “material fact” in the decision which lead to the adverse employment action.
For more information about the rights of those who have been wrongfully discharged after blowing the whistle on government wrongdoing, contact Larry Jones directly at (502) 587-2002 or by e-mail by clicking here: e-mail Larry.
