Lube Shop Owner Ordered to Pay Former Worker $100,000

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP)-A northern Idaho gas station owner has been ordered to pay $100,000 to a former employee who was fired after reporting safety violations.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill upheld the findings of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation and ordered Sandpoint Gas N Go Lube Center owner Sydney Oskoui to pay $100,000 last week. Oskoui says he will appeal Winmill's ruling, contending that the case was handled unfairly the employee was fired because he was a poor worker.

The case arose in 2012 after Daniel Kramer reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that he believed employees were working in unsafe conditions at the lube center.