State appeals federal ruling in Marion whistleblower case

2/10/2001

COLUMBUS - The state yesterday appealed a federal judge's ruling that allowed the U.S. Department of Labor to side with a Toledo man who has fought to get his job back investigating possible links between pollutants and leukemia in Marion.

EPA was ordered to reinstate Mr. Jayko and pay him $139,789 in damages and lost wages.

The state then sued the federal government, asserting that Ohio has constitutional protection - referred to as “sovereign immunity” - that bars Mr. Jayko from pursuing his case.

U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus ruled in November that Mr. Jayko's case could move forward only if the U.S. Labor Department intervened on Mr. Jayko's behalf. The federal government did so last month.