Burnham, the office manager of the defendants' dental office, filed an anonymous complaint with the Connecticut State Dental Association alleging that the defendants engaged in unsanitary practices in violation of OSHA. Shortly after lodging her complaint, Burnham was terminated. Burnham then brought suit against her former employer, alleging, among other claims, wrongful discharge in that she was terminated for reporting health and safety violations. The Connecticut Appellate Court rejected her claim, holding that because plaintiff had an explicit statutory remedy under OSHA, a common law cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy was unavailable. The Court noted that the public policy exception to the employment at-will rule is limited to situations where the employee is "otherwise without remedy.
OSHA Provides Exclusive Remedy for Wrongful Discharge
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Burnham v. Karl and Gelb, P.C., 50 Conn. App. 385 (1998).
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