Whistleblower victory for ex-BLM worker at toxic Nevada mine

[NVMojo]

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- An administrative law judge ruled Friday that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management illegally fired a former supervisor for speaking out about the health and safety dangers at a toxic mine site in Nevada.

The federal judge ordered the BLM to pay Earle Dixon two years worth of back pay and benefits totaling more than $120,000, saying it was clear that "Dixon was fired for his whistleblowing activities" at the former Anaconda copper mine in Yerington about 60 miles southeast of Reno.

The BLM also must reimburse Dixon for $10,000 in moving expenses after he was fired in October 2005 as well as attorney fees and costs expected to exceed $50,000, under the ruling by Richard K. Malamphy, an administrative judge for the Labor Department in Newport News, Va.

"This is both a victory for Earle Dixon and for the idea that the federal government is not above the law," said Richard Condit, a lawyer for the Washington D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility who represented Dixon along with co-counsel Mick Harrison of Bloomington, Ind.

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[MissWaverly]

1. Here's one for the miners

Keep it coming!