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Gold v. City Of College Station2/8/2001
Appellant, Franklin Gold, (Gold) challenges a summary judgment rendered in favor of appellees, City of College Station, City of Bryan, and Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Agency (BVSWMA) against his claim of wrongful discharge based on the Texas Whistleblower Act. We reverse.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Gold worked at the Rock Prairie Landfill (the landfill) in College Station as an operations supervisor from July 18, 1983, until his termination on October 2, 1995. The landfill was operated and managed by Gold's employer, BVSWMA, for the joint benefit of College Station and Bryan.
The landfill is subject to numerous federal and state regulations regarding solid waste disposal at the site. For example, these regulations (1) require that solid waste be encapsulated within barrier walls to prevent ground and surface water contamination; (2) prohibit the placement of solid waste on top of or outside the barrier walls; and (3) prohibit the discharge of solid waste or pollutants into adjacent waterways. As a certified solid waste technician, Gold was knowledgeable about these regulations. Part of Gold's job responsibilities, as operations supervisor, included determining where trucks unloaded solid waste at the landfill.
The on-site landfill manager, and Gold's supervisor from May 1993 until Gold's termination, was Anthony Schleisman (Schleisman). Gold reported directly to Schleisman, and Schleisman reported directly to Bill Angelo (Angelo), executive director of BVSWMA since April 1994. Gold and Schleisman were the top two managerial employees of BVSWMA at the landfill. Angelo occasionally visited the landfill, but was not there on a daily basis.
During their tenure together at the landfill, Gold and Schleisman had an acrimonious working relationship. Angelo counseled both men about this issue and warned them that if they did not learn to get along and operate the landfill together, he would fire them both.
On September 6, 1995, Schleisman gave Gold a written reprimand and placed him on six-months probation for spilling leachate. After receiving the reprimand, Gold scheduled a meeting with Angelo on September 11, 1995. At the meeting, Gold told Angelo that he thought the reprimand was unfair because Schleisman knew that leachate had been spilled in the past and had tacitly encouraged the spills by ordering the crew to move the leachate "no matter what it took."
On September 12-13, 1995, Schleisman joined Angelo and Gold in the meeting. At some point during the three-day meeting, Gold told Angelo that other rules had been violated at the landfill that constituted more egregious violations than spilling leachate. Angelo asked, "What rules?" Gold responded that solid waste had been unloaded on top of and outside the barrier walls, and that contaminated water from the landfill had been allowed to run into a nearby creek. Although Gold alleged that Schleisman knew of these violations, Schleisman denied that he had any knowledge.
Angelo ordered an excavation of the area along the barrier wall where Gold reported that the solid waste had been improperly buried. The excavation revealed solid waste on top of and outside the barrier wall, as well as leachate and waste contaminated soil.
Angelo placed Gold and Schleisman on administrative leave with pay. After further investigation, Angelo offered Schleisman the choice of resignation or termination. Schleisman resigned. Gold was not offered the opportunity to resign and was terminated by Angelo on October 2, 1995, following a pre-termination hearing. After his termination, a review board determined that Gold was justly terminated.
PROCEDUR
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