Chevron employee loses job for refusing to falsify hazardous waste reports, lawsuit says
Chevron USA Inc. fired an employee because he refused to include false information in environmental reports to government agencies and complained to his supervisors that the company was “violating the law regarding hazardous waste spills,” he says in a lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by Corey Diaz, says criminal prosecution and fines could have been imposed over the hazardous waste spills, some of which Chevron did not want to report to state and federal agencies.
Chevron has not yet responded to the lawsuit, which represents only one side of the case. The company released a statement Tuesday afternoon to the Sun Herald that said, “We are reviewing the lawsuit and have no further comment at this time.”
Diaz and wife Deanna, who live in Jackson County, are suing Chevron in Circuit Court over the loss of his job of more than 10 years. Chevron operates a refinery in Pascagolula that manufactures and sells products that include gasoline, diesel, marine and aviation fuels, premium base oil, finished lubricants, and fuel oil additives.
Diaz went to work at Chevron in 2013 and was on track to rise through the ranks, says his lawsuit, filed by attorney Daniel M. Waide of Hattiesburg.
Chevron’s hazardous waste underreported
In April 2022, Diaz’s lawsuit says, he was assigned to work on a report for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
“While working on the report,” the lawsuit says, “Diaz reported to his supervisors that the data being sent to MDEQ as part of the report was grossly inaccurate regarding the amount of waste being transported and recycled by Chevron.”
Supervisors were “upset” by what he told them and ordered him to “leave the numbers alone,” the lawsuit says.
Because he refused to “provide false numbers” to MDEQ, the lawsuit says, Diaz was removed from the assignment. A short time later, the lawsuit says, Diaz told supervisors that Chevron was not properly reporting hazardous waste spills to MDEQ and the Enivronmental Protection Agency.
His lawsuit says the supervisors were once again upset because they did not want to report “additional hazardous waste spills” to the agencies.
Chevron drew up Diaz’s termination papers in May 2022, the lawsuit says, while he was attending advanced training that was scheduled before he worked on the reports and was intended for longterm employees with potential for promotion.
Diaz was terminated in June 2022 on “embellished grounds,” his lawsuit says. The lawsuit claims that his work activities were protected by federal and state law, including the Water Pollution Control and Safe Drinking Water acts, and/or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Diaz is seeking unspecified compensation for lost wages, benefits and earning power and also for stress and anxiety. He’s also asking for punitive damages, saying Chevron’s conduct was “outrageous.” His wife is seeking an unspecified amount for loss of companionship, love and assistance from her husband, the lawsuit says.
