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Worker's lawsuit links firing to attempt to report a crime
By GRAHAM BRINK © St. Petersburg Times, published February 7, 2001 TAMPA -- When Ingeborg Coffman saw the picture of a young boy bound with duct tape and looking extremely scared, she wanted to call the police and report a possible case of child abuse. Her employer, Wal-Mart, had another idea, she said. The dispute has landed the two parties in federal court after Coffman, 60, filed a lawsuit under the Whistleblower's Act, which protects employees from wrongful termination for refusing to participate in illegal activity. "She did what the law told her to do and what her conscience told her to do," said Coffman's attorney, Catherine Kyres. "And she was fired for it." The dispute began Oct. 3 at the Plant City Wal-Mart, where Coffman was a certified lab technician. Two colleagues brought her the picture of the boy from one of the rolls of film they were developing for a customer, whose name was not disclosed. The boy was taped and someone appeared to be holding him down on a toilet, according to the lawsuit. The two colleagues had gone to a Wal-Mart manager, but he refused to notify police, the suit says. He told the employees to return the photo to the pack and give them to the customer. After making a copy of the photo, Coffman decided to show another manager, who had a similar response. The next day, the managers met with the photo developing staff and told them that all photos -- regardless of what they depict -- should be turned over to the customers to keep Wal-Mart out of any possible litigation, the suit says. One of the employees called Plant City police anyway, and on Oct. 10 two officers went to the store to investigate. Coffman gave the officers the copy of the photo. Plant City police officials did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment on the outcome of their investigation. The next day, two managers accused Coffman of stealing Wal-Mart property and wanted her to sign a statement to that effect, the suit says. Coffman refused and said she wanted an attorney if the managers intended to continue falsely accusing her. A day later, Coffman was fired. Coffman's other attorney, Craig Berman, said Florida law obligates everyone to report possible signs of child abuse. The suit claims the company retaliated against her for refusing to participate in the illegal activity of not reporting signs of child abuse. Wal-Mart attorney Scott Forman said the company is investigating the claim. He did not want to comment in detail but said the "allegations were not necessarily as they seemed." He said the picture was not graphic and anyone who looked at the whole roll of film would have come to a different conclusion. - Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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