Former aide to Rep Doug Lamborn alleges reckless and dangerous approach to Covid-19 in office newschannelnebraska.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newschannelnebraska.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A former aide to U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn sued the Colorado Republican and his congressional office Thursday, alleging the congressman was willing to sacrifice the health and safety of his employees by disregarding safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the virus infected Lamborn and multiple staff members.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also accuses Lamborn of firing the aide in retaliation after he raised concerns about workplace conditions.
Brandon Pope, Lamborn s military adviser until early December, also charges in the lawsuit that Lamborn required his congressional staff to run personal errands and perform tasks unrelated to their jobs for Lamborn and his wife, such as buying the couple Christmas and birthday presents and helping move furniture to the Lamborn s vacation home.
Former staffer sues Rep. Doug Lamborn, alleging minimal COVID protocols and retaliation
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FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2019, file photo, Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., speaks at the Capitol in Washington. Lamborn on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, joined the state s newest member of Congress, Republican Lauren Boebert, in saying he will vote against certifying Democrat Joe Biden s presidential election victory in a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Jan. 6. (House Television via AP, File)
and last updated 2021-05-13 19:40:19-04
DENVER â A former staffer of Congressman Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday claiming the congressman took âa reckless and dangerous approachâ to COVID-19 and fired him for calling for more protections against the virus â something Lambornâs office denies.
Rep. Doug Lamborn File Photo
Former congressional staffer Brandon Pope alleges in a lawsuit filed May 13 that his former boss, Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, took a reckless and dangerous approach to the coronavirus, leading to several employees becoming infected, and that Lamborn has breached congressional ethics on numerous occasions, including using his office to benefit his family personally.
Pope also alleges in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that he was fired in December in retaliation for having expressed concern about Lamborn s policies that didn t protect employees from the virus, some of whom were immunocompromised or lived with family members at high risk.
The lawsuit also said the congressman allowed his son to live in a storage space in the basement of the Capitol for weeks when his son was relocating to Washington.
In the suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, former Lamborn military aide Brandon Pope claims he was the victim of retaliation for “seeking to protect employees from unsafe conditions in the workplace.”
According to the lawsuit, “Lamborn did not require employees in the District Office to wear masks, claiming that he would not allow House Leadership to dictate how he ran his office, and he did not permit all employees to social distance. Worse, when Lamborn and other senior members of his staff became infected with COVID-19 in the fall of 2020, Lamborn refused to implement or follow reasonable and responsible COVID-19 protocols.”