After an initial win, reversal, then finally a win on appeal, the University of California and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will pay plaintiff Dee Kotla over $2 million. She was wrongly terminated from the Lab for testifying in a sexual harrassment case. Kotla originally won $1 million in March 2002.
This case highlights the fact that the contractors of national labs have their legal fees reimbursed by the government carte blanche and thus have no check on the amount of money or time spent in court battles. This allows contractors to wear down whistleblowers or other persons in never-ending legal battles fueled by the government's deep pockets. Here's what POGO recommended to the Energy Department on the Los Alamos contract, but is applicable to Livermore and other lab contracts as well:
The Department of Energy should not reimburse any legal fees incurred by the contractor in whistleblower legal disputes subsequent to an adverse administrative determination by DOE or Department of Labor, or an adverse final judgment by any State or Federal court, unless the determination or judgment is reversed upon further administrative or judicial review.
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