Jury awards North Carolina woman $1.5M in whistleblower suit
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A federal jury has awarded $1.5 million to a former North Carolina fire investigator who said she was fired after complaining about the safety of construction work at an office building.
The Charlotte Observer reported (http://bit.ly/2ppxYn0) that a jury ruled Thursday in favor of Crystal Eschert, who said the Charlotte Fire Department fired her in 2014 because of her concerns over renovations at a new office building.
Officials in Charlotte said Eschert was fired because of a Facebook post in the aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown, a black teenager, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The city said the firing was justified because the post could have led to community unrest.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eschert's attorney, Meg Maloney, said the Facebook post was an excuse to fire Eschert.
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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com