An employee of a residential treatment facility for the mentally challenged in New Paltz, New York, who alleged that he was illegally fired for reporting a hazardous workplace condition, has been vindicated by the U.S. Labor Department. He will have all references to being fired removed from his personnel files and receive $15,000 in back wages.

According to Patricia K. Clark, regional administrator of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the complainant was employed as a resident manager at Gateway Community Manor in New Paltz, a not-for-profit agency devoted to the training and development of mentally and physically challenged adults. He was terminated from his position in April, 1998 after he expressed concerns for himself and other staff members regarding exposure to bloodborne pathogens in connection with conducting a blood test on one of the residents.

In a consent judgment entered by the U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, the defendant, Gateway Community Industries, Inc., while denying that it violated any provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, agreed to pay $15,000 in back wages to the complainant, who has moved to California, as well as expunge all references to suspension or discharge from his file.