11 fired Hanford workers awarded millions

YAKIMA — A Benton County jury yesterday awarded more than $4.7 million in damages to 11 pipe fitters who sued a contractor at the Hanford nuclear reservation, saying they were fired for speaking up about safety concerns.

The workers filed suit six years ago against Fluor Federal Services, a contractor at the south-central Washington nuclear site. Appeals had delayed the trial.

In 1997, a crew of seven pipe fitters objected when they were told to install a valve rated for a pressure of 1,975 pounds per square inch for a test of radioactive waste pipes that would need to withstand 2,235 pounds per square inch.

The crew was later laid off, but a settlement was reached that required Fluor Federal Services to rehire them.

The plaintiffs' attorneys contended that foremen on the job were told they would have to lay off seven other pipe fitters to bring the first seven back. The lawsuit was filed by five of the original seven, plus six of those who were subsequently laid off.

Attorneys for Fluor Federal Services countered that there simply was not enough work at the Hanford site for all of the pipe fitters.

Damages awarded by the Superior Court jury in Richland ranged from $89,700 for one plaintiff to more than $553,000 for another.

The workers were gratified by the ruling, but dismayed that it took as long as it did, said Tom Carpenter, director of the nuclear-oversight program for the Government Accountability Project (GAP), a whistle-blower group that filed the lawsuit.

"This was a definitive, very clear-cut victory for whistle-blowers and for employees at Hanford who raise safety concerns," Carpenter said.

Randy Squires, an attorney for Fluor Federal Services, said the verdict was disappointing and that his client would consider an appeal.

"You can't possibly have an outcome like this and not at least consider it," Squires said.

"You can, on the one hand, respect the jury's effort here, and on the other, continue to disagree with it. I believe that's Fluor's view. The company's view is that it did not retaliate against these people. Having said that, the jury has spoken."

The company has 30 days to file notice that it plans to appeal, Squires said.