SEATTLE (CN) - A city engineer claims Seattle fired him after he told his bosses that seismic retrofit projects were flawed and couldn't withstand an earthquake. Philippe Moubarak says he found "serious analysis and design errors" in bridge retrofits that could cause "unnecessary and unacceptable risk for serious injury or death."
Moubarak, who was a senior supervising engineer in the Seattle Department of Transportation, sued the city for wrongful firing and violation of state law.
"After plaintiff communicated these workplace safety issues involving the serious design errors to defendant, and he proposed some potential possible solutions, defendant gave plaintiff the choice to resign or be terminated," according to the complaint in King County court.
Moubarak says he resigned. He seeks damages for wrongful discharge, front and back pay and/or reinstatement. He is represented by Peter Cogan.
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