U.S Department of Labor files a lawsuit against the Idaho Falls School District

The U.S Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against the Idaho Falls School District.

According to the labor department, school District 91 fired an employee for reporting asbestos cleanup concerns at C. E. Gayle Junior High School.

“I was essentially fired for doing my job,” said Penny Weymiller, formerly an environmental safety and health engineer for the Idaho Falls School District.

Her job was to keep people in the school safe. That’s what she believed she was doing when she told her school their plan to remove asbestos could cause the students harm.

“When a parent sends their child to school, they expect it to be a safe place. They don’t think they’re sending their child to a hazardous environment. And I was appalled,” Weymiller said.

One of the big dangers is that asbestos can cause cancer.

“It causes problems sometimes 20 and 30 years after exposure to it. It’s dangerous,” she said. ” You couldn’t have stopped it, and asbestos fibers are really, really small.”

Weymiller said she loved her job, and losing it has been devastating.

“Twenty plus years at the site, it took me a year to find another job. I took an $11 an hour pay cut, and i drive a hundred miles round trip. I have no retirement left,” she said.

Despite all this, Weymiller said no one should ever be afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

We called District 91 about this, and they referred us to their lawyer. We called, but the lawyer was not in the office today.