Originally published Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 4:40 PM
PrintJudge rules 2 whistle-blowers can sue King County
A federal judge is giving a green light to a lawsuit filed by two King County traffic specialists. The two workers, Ho-Chuan Chen and Hossein Barahimi, were among five employees who came forward several years ago to say the county was using bad traffic data in approving a big development east of Redmond, called Redmond Ridge East.
SEATTLE — A federal judge is giving a green light to a lawsuit filed by two King County traffic specialists.
The two workers, Ho-Chuan Chen and Hossein Barahimi, were among five employees who came forward several years ago to say the county was using bad traffic data in approving a big development east of Redmond called Redmond Ridge East.
Chen and Barahimi say county officials unlawfully retaliated against them for speaking out, such as by excluding them from meetings, hiring an outside consultant to redo their work and ultimately targeting them for layoffs.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechmen ruled Wednesday the criticisms leveled by the whistle-blowers constituted free speech, protected by the First Amendment. Therefore, she says, Chen and Barahimi can pursue their claims against the county and their former supervisors.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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