An Orlando gun range had too much lead. It fired the guy who told OSHA. Cost: $30,000
An Orlando gun store and shooting range will pay $30,000 to an employee it fired after he reported $8,500 worth of workplace safety violations.
This U.S. Department of Labor announced the resolution in the case involving the The Shooting Gallery Range on Monday, three days after a judgment was issued in Orlando federal court to settle Labor’s whistleblower lawsuit.
The Shooting Gallery Range will pay former employee Christopher Moore $15,000 in back pay and $15,000 in damages. The range and owner Johnny Lwin already have paid the $8,551 in OSHA fines that resulted from Moore reporting possible violations having to do with lead.
Moore worked at The Shooting Gallery as a safety range officer from January 2015 until his firing on July 6, 2016.
According to Labor’s lawsuit, “On June 21, 2016, Moore learned that his children tested positive for lead poisoning, and he became concerned that the children’s lead poisoning may have resulted from his own exposure to high lead levels at the Shooting Gallery.”
Two days later, Moore’s fiancee came by The Shooting Gallery to discuss this possibility with manager Tracy Robertson.
“Robertson indicated it was Moore’s fault if he exposed his children to high levels of lead, and that it was not the owner’s responsibility to protect him or take care of his hygiene,” the suit claimed.
Moore’s fiancee told Robertson The Shooting Gallery could expect a visit from the Orange County Department of Health after the kids’ pediatrician informed the department about the lead poisoning. She and Moore, she said, not only would cooperate with the health department, but talk to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The suit said Robertson told Moore to tell Lwin about the coming health department visit and “he was sure Lwin would terminate Moore.”
Moore filed a formal OSHA complaint the next day about lead exposure and poor ventilation. Six days after that, OSHA visited The Shooting Gallery for the first inspection.
“OSHA left Shooting Gallery, Robertson told Moore that he was certain that an employee had complained to OSHA because OSHA had a lot of insider information,” the suit said.
Lwin told Robertson to fire Moore, which he did on July 6.
OSHA cited The Shooting Gallery for “three times the permissible amount of lead in the lobby and shooting range, accumulations of lead on surfaces around the range, and failure to train employees on hazards associated with lead in the work area.”
With citations for inadequacies in the respiratory protection program and bloodborne pathogen exposure control plan, The Shooting Gallery faced $21,377 in proposed fines. The store settled for $8,551 and paid them by Dec. 20, 2017.
Their last payment to Moore is due June 28.
