(LEGAFI) -- The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Whole Foods Market Group on behalf of a former employee, alleging she was unlawfully fired because she reported health concerns stemming from a raw sewage spill at a store in Miami Beach, Florida.

 

The Whole Foods whistleblower lawsuit alleges the company violated whistleblower protections by "unlawfully and intentionally" firing Bridget Hobart after she reported the workplace health concerns to OSHA.

 

"OSHA takes allegations of workplace discrimination very seriously," said an OSHA representative in a statement about the lawsuit. "These types of allegations are thoroughly investigated, and employers violating the whistleblower protection provisions of the OSHA Act are held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

 

The Whole Foods whistleblower lawsuit stems from a November 2, 2009, incident in which Hobart alerted a supervisor that a sewer line that had ruptured the day before was spewing into workplace areas such as restrooms and the specialty cheese department. Hoburt alleges in the lawsuit that store management took no action, prompting her to anonymously report her concerns via the company tip line. When no corrective action had been made by November 5, Hoburt alerted another manager about her concerns. Whole Foods fired her that same day for allegedly making "false and malicious statements" in saying that management had not taken proper steps to correct the issue, according to the whistleblower lawsuit.

 

Whole Foods denies the allegations and maintains it appropriately addressed the sewage spill and that Hoburt's termination was not in retaliation to her complaints.

 

OSHA is suing Whole Foods Market Group to reinstate Hoburt with full back wages and benefits, in addition to punitive damages and compensatory damages.