$660K For Pigeon Shootings

A jury in New Jersey awarded William Lakes $660,000 from the city of Brigantine after Lakes says he was harassed for reporting worker safety violations at the Department of Public Works.

The violation Lakes reported? Oh, just a little matter of DPW employees shooting pigeons for sport on the grounds of the Department of Public Works.

The story goes like this: Lakes reported the pigeon shooting to OSHA, and then a radio station reported it. I’ll let the Press of Atlantic City’s Shawn Hardie explain what happened next:

The suit said that Lakes’ supervisors organized a meeting offering a one-hour amnesty window to any employee who could share information about the pigeon shootings, which would be turned over to police. When Lakes told supervisor John Doring what he knew after the meeting, he immediately became the subject of threats of physical violence, as well as being labeled as a “rat” and shunned by co-workers.

Since the pigeons are the rats of the avian world, I suppose it’s an apt comparison.

Brigantine told to pay $600G. in harassment [Press of AC]