ML20080E675

News Article, Wrongful Discharge Suit Names Consumers, Zack

ML20080E675
Person / Time
Site:	Midland, 05000000
Issue date:	02/24/1983
From:	AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
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ML20080E624	List: ML20080E640 ML20080E675 ML20080E691 ML20080E698
References
FOIA-83-378 PR-830224, NUDOCS 8402100027
Download: ML20080E675 (1)

Text

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Wrongful dischargo suit y ,

namos Consumora, Zac d3 Hy pal'L HAP was made supervinor of the Quality Duil.t Ncu s staff u rlier Assurance lQA ldocumerdation sicction e A civil suit filed Tuesday in Cook Coun. Howard told the Daily News last year

' ty ll) 'Carcuit Court namesasdefendants that the Zack documents were in a " hor-Consumers Pow er Co , one ofitr Midland rendous mess " He said many darnmenta employees ar.d a Midland nuclear plant were missing and thousands more had subcontractor been altered and falsified.

The wrongful dischar He saidhe was sasuredbyMrs DeZutel brought by Albert " Terry"ge suit and Howard was that Zack would not interfere with the Sharon Marello, two former employees of work of his department, but that his team -

the Zack Co. based near Chicago Zack, was harassed by Zack management be-which supphes and installs ductwork at cauw the team refused to cover up the the Midland plant, also was named in the document deficiencies.

In April 1981 Howardsaid,leonardof suit'her Ot defendanta are Zack Co. Presi, Consumers Power promised him con-dent Christine Zack DeZutel and Hank fidentishty and protection from repnsats leonard,a Consumers Power Co. em- if he would report the document pmblems ployeein Midland. through the utility's Midland Project Consumers Power and Zack dechned Quallty Assurance Department comment on thesuit. PQADL Howard and Marello are seeking in ex-cess of $15,000 each, according to the2r At the time, Leonard was Heating, attorney, Sandy VandeKauter of the law Ventilating and Air Conditioning firm Harvey L. Walner & Associates Ltd. iHVACQuahty Assurance section head.

of Chicago. The suit does nqt seek their Since then he has been promoted to reinstatement to their former)obe at Zack HVACQA superintendant.

headquartersin Chicago. Two weeks after the problems were re-Howa-d, Marello and twu other Zack ported to Consumers' MPQAD, Zack fired employees not involved in the suit were its entire QA documentation section. *We fired byZack on April 29,19ti2,afterthey were obviously canned because we knew had complained to supervisors and Con- too much. We were retaliated against,"

Howard ssidin 1982.

sumers Power about falsified documents in the documentation section where they worked MS. VANDEKAUTER, speaking for her chents, said Howard and Marello de ,

Zack has had a history of trouble keep-ing proper records ofmaterials at supplied cided to sue when Zack's law firm,Jenner for nuclear plante. Federal law requires & Block, ignored attempts to arrive at an complete verification ofmaterials used in amicable settlement" of their gne-safety.related nuclear plant avstems The vanws. Ms. VandeKauter said her calls U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission and letters were not returned by the firm.

fined Consumers Power $38.000 in Janu. She said the two have suffered emotion-ary 1981 for a series of paperwork and al trauma and financial difficulty since construction violations committed by their firir.gs. " Good employees were left Zack.

without a job in bad economic times for no The NRC is investigating the allega- reason "Ms VandeKautersaid.

tions made by Howard, Marello and She noted that Howard, who has 10 others.

children, moved his family from Mas-Zack hired four persons in October 1981 sachusetts to Chicago when Consumers to clea n up its document situation. includ- ofTered him a new career in the nuclear

• ing Howard and Marello: Howard, a re- industry, and then moved back after tired educator and real estate consultant, be,ing on thejoblessthan a year.

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