Reversing a federal trial court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled recently that a federal law that protects whistleblowing employees of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contractors from retaliation covers the employees of subcontractors as well.
The ruling by the appeals court in Cejka v. Vectrus Systems Corporation, Nos. 18-1439 & 18-1459 (10th Cir. August 7, 2020), concludes that even though the statute in effect at the time of the adverse action referred only to the “employee of a contractor,” the employees of subcontractors were also protected.
In so ruling, the Tenth Circuit noted that the employer, even though a subcontractor in this case, had other prime contracts with DOD, and accordingly was in fact a contractor as defined by the statute. The court also found that plaintiffs’ complaints “[stood] in some relation” to the prime contractor’s contract with DOD, and thus, they were protected.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.