The U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday that a Boise, Idaho, dog daycare business owner has agreed to pay $25,000 each to two former employees who were fired after raising concerns about being exposed to COVID-19 on the job.
The consent agreement, entered Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, also requires House of Hounds LLC to remove any negative reference to the incident from the former workers’ employment records and to apologize to the individuals publicly on social media.
The workers were fired after expressing concerns to management about working alongside a coworker who had been awaiting COVID-19 test results, the DOL said.
A third employee who also raised concerns was not disciplined because they didn’t file a complaint with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to the DOL.
OSHA said the company violated federal whistleblower regulations by retaliating against the two workers who filed complaints with the agency.
The agreement also requires the company to provide OSHA-approved management training and to send out employee rights notices.