A previous owner of Banjo Billy's Bus Tours will have to pay a former employee $11,000 in back wages, interest and punitive damages after it was found the employee was terminated for refusing to drive an unsafe bus, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program found reasonable cause to believe that John Georgis, the former owner of the Boulder-based tour operator, which offers guided bus tours in the Denver and Boulder areas, retaliated against the employee under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, which protects workers who raise concerns about commercial motor vehicle safety, security, or those who refuse to drive an unsafe vehicle.
In addition to paying the employee, the company must also expunge the worker's records of any reference to the termination.
Banjo Billy's Bus Tours is currently under new ownership.
To learn more about employee whistleblower rights, see fact sheets or file a complaint, visit: Whistleblowers.gov.
