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AUGUSTA, Maine The state has agreed to pay $65,000 to a stateemployee who claimed she was demoted last year after testifyingbefore a legislative committee during her vacation about thedangers of the chemical bisphenol-A. In the settlement signed April 19 between the state and AndreaLani, the state admits no wrongdoing. The agreement, however,requires that the state provide training to supervisors within theMaine Department of Environmental Protection about the state lawthat prohibits retaliation against state employees who providetestimony to the Legislature. Lani, a Whitefield resident, filed a lawsuit in October in U.S.District Court in Bangor alleging she was the victim of retaliationby DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho and Ronald Dyer, director of theDEP s bureau of remediation and waste management. The lawsuit wasdismissed by Lani after the settlement. Lani had worked for the DEP since 1999 and oversaw the program thateducated the public about toxic substances in plastic and theirimpact on children, called the Safer Chemicals in Children sProducts program. According to her lawsuit, Lani testified on March 29, 2011, beforethe Legislature s Environmental and Natural Resources Committee inopposition to a bill, LD 1129, that would rewrite the 2008 Kid-SafeProduct Act. Lani, who said she used a vacation day to testify,told the committee that the bill was bad public policy and wouldrepeal an important law that protected children s health andwelfare in Maine. Lani claimed that two days after her testimony, Aho and Dyerordered an investigation into whether she used department resourcesto develop her testimony. The lawsuit notes she was cleared of thatallegation four days later. But in June, Lani claimed she was reassigned to a less desirableclerical job to work on the agency s record management system,updating record retention schedules and implementing a new approachto Freedom of Access laws. She claimed that her position at the safer chemicals program wasfilled by a person far less qualified who had been hired in January2011 at an entry-level clerical position. The lawsuit by Lani points out that Aho previously had been alobbyist for the chemical industry and had opposed the 2008Kid-Safe Product Act. Of the $65,000 paid by the state, $27,300 will go to Johnson andWebbert LLP, which is the law firm that represented Lani, and theremaining $37,700 will be paid to her. The settlement states thatthe money is for noneconomic damages. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection agreed under thesettlement to provide training to its supervisory staff regardingthe state laws that prohibit retaliation for testimony. A 1985 state law states: A supervisor shall not discharge,threaten or otherwise discriminate against a state employeeregarding the employee's compensation, terms, conditions,location or privileges of employment because the employee, incompliance with this chapter, testified before or providesinformation to a legislative committee. Another 1985 law states that state employees have the right torepresent themselves and testify before a legislative committee ontheir own time. The training will be done by the Maine attorney general s officeeither in person or by videoconference and completed by Jan. 9,2013. Training for the DEP commissioner s office and bureaudirectors, however, must be done in person and completed by July 9. The two sides in the lawsuit also agree not to disparage the other.They also are prohibited from discussing the settlement, accordingto the terms of the agreement. Telephone messages were left with Lani and her attorneys onTuesday. Lani also had sought to return to her former job. The settlementdoes not reference her current job assignment. She is listed on theDEP website as working in the commissioner s office and her jobtitle is listed as environmental specialist 3. A telephone message also was left for DEP Commissioner Patricia Ahoon Tuesday afternoon. The settlement was reached before the state filed its response toLani s lawsuit. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said Andrea Lani filed a lawsuitin October in Bangor District Court. The lawsuit was filed in U.S.District Court in Bangor. It was an editing error. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Medical Cotton Wool , Hypodermic Syringes Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Gauze Dressings today!
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