Former state worker loses whistleblower suit

RENO -- Federal Judge David Hagen has dismissed a suit brought by a former state worker who claimed he lost his job because he "blew the whistle" on wrongdoing of his superiors.

Chemist Raymond May sued the state, the health division and several workers at the health laboratory in Reno, claiming his rights were violated and that he was the victim of retaliation.

May claimed the state was violating safety regulations in some testing procedures. And when his probationary period ended, he was not hired permanently in 1994.

May was one of the first employees to test the "whistleblower" law that protects employees who disclose improper government action.

He failed in his state appeal to regain his job. But he did win a minor victory when a hearing officer ruled that his evaluation should be raised from "unacceptable" to "standard."

Hearing Officer Pat Dolan said the downgrading of May was "clearly excessive and must be attributed partially to retaliation for the various activities of the employee in reporting wrongdoing on the part of the employer."

But Dolan said May was partly to blame for the confrontations in the health laboratory because of his tendency to "become agitated and to resort to sarcasm and an adversarial air in advancing his opinion or position."

The state attorney general's office said it would not appeal the Dolan decision.

It said May could pursue his federal civil rights suit to the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals or file an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court in Reno.

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