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OSHA orders vaping firm to pay whistleblower manager

Posted On: Apr. 23, 2018 2:27 PM CST

OSHA orders vaping firm to pay whistleblower manager

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered Mr. Good Vape L.L.C. of Chino, California, to reinstate a former manager and pay him $110,000 in compensation after he was fired for claiming the company’s production of flavored liquids for e-cigarette vapor inhalers violated federal environmental law.

On May 6, 2015, after learning that the manager reported his concerns to the California Department of Environmental Protection, the company suspended him, then terminated him two days later, OSHA said Friday in a statement.

An OSHA investigation concluded that the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Solid Waste Disposal Act protected the former manager’s whistleblower activities, and that these activities were motivating factors in his suspension and termination, regulators said in the statement.

In addition to reinstatement and compensation, OSHA ordered the employer to clear the former manager’s personnel file of any reference to the matter; and post a notice informing all employees of their whistleblower protections under TSCA and the SWDA, according to the release.

Mr. Good Vape founder Gary Riddle told Business Insurance that the company will be appealing OSHA’s order.