CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A federal judge has upheld a jury’s $1.5 million award to a North Carolina fire investigator who said she was fired after complaining about the safety of construction work at an office building.
The Charlotte Observer reports (https://bit.ly/2sqfOj4 ) that Friday’s decision by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney is a further setback for the city of Charlotte.
A jury decided May 11 the Charlotte Fire Department fired Crystal Eschert in 2014 in retaliation for her concerns about the renovations.
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Charlotte officials said Eschert was fired because of a Facebook post in the aftermath of the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The city argued potential community unrest justified the firing.
But Whitney concluded that Eschert’s building complaints are protected by the First Amendment.
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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, https://www.charlotteobserver.com
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