Amid workplace safety concerns, bill seeks to expand whistleblower protections in Maine
During much of the pandemic, Heather Foran was a bartender at Timber Steakhouse in Portland. But that changed late last year when Foran said she was removed from the schedule after expressing concerns about the restaurant’s virus safety policies.
Throughout the pandemic, Foran said the owner created a culture that was dismissive of the dangers of the virus, with people often not wearing masks prior to shifts or in the kitchen and only putting face coverings on when interacting with customers. That attitude came to a head in November when her two fellow bartenders both called out sick with COVID-19 symptoms at a time when Foran said the virus was known to be spreading around the Old Port area. Foran said one of the bartenders had recently been to places with positive cases while the other bartender’s girlfriend worked at a restaurant that had seen virus cases.
Foran said the owner told her to come into work early to fill in. She was uneasy with the situation. “I basically told him, ‘I don’t feel comfortable about this. I don’t think we should be open,’” Foran recalled.
The owner initially said he couldn’t make her come in if she didn’t feel comfortable, Foran said. But a couple days later, Foran said he took her off the work schedule, telling her that he couldn’t have people working who were scared to come in. He told her they could talk in a few weeks about the situation. But Foran said he never reached out again, and Foran also decided she didn’t want to work for him.
Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/amid-workplace-safety-concerns-bill-seeks-to-expand-whistleblower-protections-in-maine/
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