A federal judge has upheld a jury’s $1.5 million award to a North Carolina fire investigator who said she was fired after complaining about the safety of construction work at an office building.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the June 2 decision by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney is a further setback for the city of Charlotte.
A jury decided May 11 the Charlotte Fire Department fired Crystal Eschert in 2014 in retaliation for her concerns about the renovations.
Charlotte officials said Eschert was fired because of a Facebook post in the aftermath of the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The city argued potential community unrest justified the firing.
But Whitney concluded that Eschert’s building complaints are protected by the First Amendment.
Topics Legislation North Carolina
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