Former Lab Worker Gets Whistle-Blower Status

A former manager at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory can sue the University of California as a whistle-blower while trying to prove she was retaliated against for exposing problems at the lab, a judge ruled last week.

Michelle Doggett, who oversaw energy research funds at the lab, left Livermore in 1999 on a stress disability that she says was caused by negative job reviews and other actions her supervisors took to silence her.

The university maintained Doggett was not entitled to whistle-blower status because she never filed an application seeking it. Superior Court Judge James A. Richman ruled that California’s labor code reflects “a strong public policy concerning whistle-blowing” and is designed to give broad protections.