WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 07, 2005
Ram Parkash
NRI, (non-redident Indian) a water quality manager,
Seema S. Bhat, 59, of Columbia was improperly fired
in March 2003 because she had "become an unwelcome
whistle-blower" after informing the (EPA) U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency that lead levels exceeded
federal limits.
Under the terms of the ruling, WASA (Water and Sewer
Authority ) must pay Bhat a total of $60,000 in damages
$73,000 a year in back pay, plus benefits, interest
and attorneys fees and court costs. Her attorney tells
The Washington Post that comes to more than $500,000.
WASA told that Bhat was fired because she was rude
to superiors and had failed to inform them of the
key findings.
Bhat, who lives in Columbia, has been unemployed
since her firing, Schwartz said. Although Bhat has
sought work, she has had trouble because she was terminated
and because she works in a specialized field, Schwartz
added.
Levin found that while Bhat made mistakes, WASA did
discriminate against her.
"Simply put," Levin said in the ruling,
"WASA failed to demonstrate that Bhat would have
been fired in the absence of her protected activities.
The record shows, to the contrary, that she was terminated
not because she incurred the displeasure of her supervisor
over the abrasive tone she exhibited toward him and
others . . . she was fired because she engaged in
activities protected by the" Safe Drinking Water
Act.
Asked whether Bhat would return to work at WASA,
Schwartz noted that the two men who recommended her
termination -- her supervisor, Kofi Boateng, and his
boss, Michael A. Marcotte, who was the deputy general
manager -- have since left the agency.
In a statement released by Schwartz, Bhat said: "I
have mixed feelings about returning, but I loved my
job. That is what they objected to, the fact that
I really cared."
