Whistleblower Case Has |a Funny Odor, Court Says

(CN) – A Tennessee woman cannot claim she was wrongfully fired as a whistleblower simply for complaining about the allegedly foul stench coming from a co-worker’s office, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled.     Rebecca Boyd was working for Edwards & Associates when she reported that one of her co-workers was sanding fiberglass, purportedly in violation of the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Act (TOSHA). She said she was fired in retaliation for complaining.     The trial court dismissed the case, ruling that Boyd failed to use her rights to an exclusive remedy under TOSHA, and that her claims under the Tennessee Public Protection Act are insufficient.     Judge Franks agreed that Boyd was not complaining of illegal activity, only about “a co-worker’s sanding of fiberglass outside the properly ventilated room that was designated for such activity (which) created an offensive smell that bothered her.”