A Nike electrician who said he was fired after complaining about electrical safety violations has lost a $27 million lawsuit against the company. The electrician claimed that he had complained to managers within Nike -- and ultimately to government safety regulators -- that a Nike electrician apprenticeship program in Beaverton, Oregon, was allowing apprentices to do electrical work without supervision. Among his concerns was a person was shocked in the Tiger Woods building because of shoddy electrical work, according to a report by the Oregonian.
Nike lawyers said the the employee, Douglas Ossanna, was fired for sneaking his son and two other men into an unfinished gym at the Bo Jackson Fitness Center. Ossanna said he visited the building to do some urgent work with the two contractors and his son, who is an electrical engineer. Afterward, he said he briefly let them shoot hoops, and they didn’t cross any tape restricting them from accessing the court -- nor did the court feel sticky, the Oregonian reported.
A County Circuit Court jury ruled in favor of Nike last week, as Nike lawyers had argued that Ossanna "irrevocably broke Nike’s trust after he used his all-access campus pass to let the three unauthorized guests into the building while it was closed for the holidays on Dec. 27, 2012."
