Unlike Norman Bourdeau, who was fired by L.H. Gray and Sons Ltd. for taking documents detailing the company's nefarious actions and then faced a blizzard of court actions, a chicken-industry whistleblower in the United States got federal government protection and a $50,000 reward.
The U.S. Department of Labor leaned on Pilgrim's Pride Corp. in Mount Pleasant, Texas, and as a result the company will be paying the whistleblower $50,000.
The employee blew the whistle on the company's violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
The company also agreed to post a notice to employees advising them of their whistleblower rights, to purge any derogatory information in the employee's personnel file directly related to the incident and to provide a neutral job reference. In exchange, the employee agreed to leave the company.
"Employees must feel free to exercise their rights under the law said John Hermanson, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas.
Bourdeau's case is far from over. Allegations of cheating on egg grading, breaches of Canada's Competition laws and conspiracy to drive a small-scale egg-grading company out of business have yet to be tested in court.
What's under dispute right now is how much of the evidence Bourdeau took from Gray can be used in the court case.
Once that's decided, I'm thinking that Gray, Burnbrae Farms and the Egg Farmers of Ontario marketing board will quickly negotiate a multi-million-dollar deal to have Svante Lind of Best Choice Eggs drop his lawsuit.
But Bourdeau and his allegations may not melt away so readily. What he's alleging is, after all, some pretty serious criminal behaviour.
And there's a matter of his wrongful dismissal suit.
Gray, Burnbrae and the Egg Board all deny any wrongdoing.
