PG&E workers claim whistleblowers were punished

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California newspaper says Pacific Gas and Electric repeatedly ignored safety concerns raised by its employees in the years before last year's deadly pipeline explosion in San Bruno and sometimes punished workers for speaking up.

The San Jose Mercury News published (http://bit.ly/r6tpFt ) its findings Monday based on interviews and several employment lawsuits against the utility.

One of the workers quoted by the Mercury News sued PG&E just a few weeks before September's San Bruno explosion, in which eight people died and 55 homes were left uninhabitable.

Pipeline worker Mike Wiseman claims in his suit that PG&E officials held him overnight in a hotel and ordered him to have a psychiatric evaluation after he complained about safety violations at several sites.

Company spokesman David Eisenhauer says he can't comment on personnel matters but that PG&E wants employees to voice concerns.

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Information from: San Jose Mercury News, http://www.sjmercury.com