November 10, 2007 in City

Fired EWU safety critic sues school

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A former Eastern Washington University employee is suing the school for wrongful termination after he was fired a week after submitting a report criticizing the institution as having the worst safety record of any public university in the state.

The lawsuit is the second in about 16 months filed against EWU by former employees who claim they were fired after speaking out about safety concerns.

In the most recent suit, filed Thursday, Peter Batsakis claims he lost his job as the environmental health and safety manager at EWU without cause only days after he submitted his report earlier this year “detailing Eastern’s noncompliance with numerous significant health, safety and environmental laws,” Spokane attorney Michael Hines said.

“The university retaliated against Mr. Batsakis after he voiced concerns over the university’s lack of response to numerous safety and health issues,” Hines said. “Mr. Batsakis was terminated immediately thereafter without any warning or justification given.”

EWU spokesman Dave Meany said school officials wanted to reserve their comments for the courtroom. But Meany also pointed out that Batsakis was an at-will employee, meaning that he could have been terminated at any time for any reason.

“I’m not saying that as a rebuttal,” Meany said. “We want to make it very clear that we make health and safety our top priority. That’s reflected in everything we do on campus.”

According to the lawsuit, Batsakis was hired June 5, 2006, as the safety manager. His job description included researching conduct, inspecting workplaces for potential hazards and preparing reports, the suit states.

From his hire date to January 2007, his personnel file shows no negative evaluations, comments, reprimands or any other evidence of unsatisfactory performance, the suit states.

But on Jan. 2, Batsakis submitted his review of numerous health, safety and environmental violations. Those included improperly stored hazardous wastes, radioactive materials and instances of asbestos exposure.

The report “details over 80 areas of EWU’s failure to comply with state and local health and safety laws,” the suit states. Batsakis noted that EWU has the “overall worst safety and environmental compliance record” of any public university in the state.

On Jan. 9, university officials fired Batsakis without explaining the action, the suit states. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for lost wages, emotional distress and punitive damages.

In a separate lawsuit filed in 2006, former risk manager Anne Bailey sued the university, claiming she was fired for speaking out at a public hearing on proposed asbestos rules.

Bailey spoke at an Aug. 18, 2005, meeting of the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority. An EWU professor and a local environmental attorney complained to university administrators that Bailey had purported to speak on behalf of the university and that she had a conflict of interest because her husband worked as a private consultant on asbestos cleanup.

After an investigation, university officials fired Bailey on Jan. 2, 2006. She and her husband, Sam Bailey, claimed in a suit filed in July 2006 that their First Amendment rights were violated and that she was speaking as a private citizen. That case remains pending in Spokane County Superior Court.

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