By The Associated Press
SEATTLE — A Washington State Ferries employee who suffered retaliation after reporting on a co-worker who skipped out on the job has been awarded $1 million.
Steve Chaussee was a carpenter foreman at the Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island when he told supervisors about a worker who was cheating on his time card.
But according to his lawsuit, the supervisors did nothing so another worker anonymously filed a complaint with the state Auditor’s Office.
The lawsuit says the supervisors assumed that complaint came from Chaussee and they retaliated against him. Chaussee claims he was demoted.
His lawsuit went to trial and a jury decided he should be paid $1 million in compensation.
The state Department of Transportation says it’s reviewing the case to decide how to respond to the verdict.
