In what should be the final chapter of a federal discrimination lawsuit, a former employee of the Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor has been ordered to pay the company $908.45 for the cost of documents printed documents over the course of the two-year case.
U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs issued her decision on July 5 after ruling in April that Steven Baxley, a former production operator with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), had failed to prove he was forced into retirement due to his sleep apnea.
Baxley alleged in his March 2016 lawsuit that SRNS discriminated against him by demanding he work nights despite his condition, which causes patients to stop breathing during sleep. When Baxley said he could not work nights, he was forced to retire after more than 25 years of working at the Savannah River National Laboratory, according to the lawsuit. Baxley retired in October 2013 and sued more than two years later for back pay with interest, payment for past and future benefits, front pay, and payment of medical bills, damages, and attorney fees and costs.
After Childs dismissed the lawsuit, the contractor filed a motion for miscellaneous relief, seeking the $900. Baxley’s legal team objected, saying their client had reasonable grounds to sue and should therefore not have to pay the money. But Childs ruled that “although the losing party’s good faith in pursuing an action is a virtual prerequisite to receiving relief, that party’s good faith, standing alone, is an insufficient basis for refusing to assess costs against that party.”
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is a partnership of Fluor, Honeywell, and Stoller Newport News Nuclear. Its missions at the Department of Energy facility in South Carolina encompass cleanup, building deactivation and decommissioning, tritium production for nuclear weapons, and operation of the Savannah River National Laboratory.
The company’s $9.5 billion contract with the Energy Department was extended in April by one year, through July 31, 2019.
