Settlements
UC
LAB WHISTLEBLOWERS
In addition to coming
to an agreement in Jennings (formerly Singleton) et al., another case
concerning Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and a case at Los Alamos
National Laboratory (both managed by UC) have settled. Both cases were brought
by whistleblowers and concerned financial improprieties.
Michelle Doggett,
a resource analyst at LLNL, discovered billing abuses around 1995. She alleges
retaliation by LLNL employees after reporting the fraud. (See Spring 2003
Newsletter.) Glenn Walp, a security official at Los Alamos, reported
mishandling of lab credit cards and property. Both have received similar
financial settlements, $990,000 for Doggett's case and $930,000 for Walp's
case. Doggett's settlement is "believed to be one of the largest settlements
for a whistleblower in the Bay Area" says the San Jose Mercury.
Sources:
San Jose Mercury 9/15/03 and The Recorder 9/17/03
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
The Peralta Community
College system has just spent $200,000 on a settlement for Boatamo Mosupyoe.
Mosupyoe, a very popular teacher at the College of Alameda, was suddenly fired
in November 2001. The college president's explanation (as given in the school
newspaper) was "Think about the most serious things [you can imagine]; that is
what caused this." Apparently the "most serious things" were four African
artifacts that Mosupyoe bought for use in her classes with $2,375 in authorized
district funds. The college requested that they be appraised by an auction
company, which declared them to be worth $205
Not surprisingly,
Mosupyoe filed a civil rights lawsuit last year, accusing the district of
defamation. The district settled in November of this year. Half of the
settlement costs plus the district's legal fees will be paid by its insurance,
but the remaining $100,000 will be paid by the district. Mosupyoe is now
teaching Sacramento State University, a move out of the community college
system into the California State University system-which has its own
difficulties (see Case Updates).
Source:
East Bay Express 11/5/03