The former site director of one of Hendry County’s largest primate farms has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit against the facility. In the suit, veterinarian Kelly Hopper of Fort Denaud alleges she was fired for reporting wrongdoing at the Mannheimer Foundation’s rural Haman Ranch, between LaBelle and Clewiston. Hopper’s attorney, Benjamin Yormak of Bonita Springs, said reporting wrongdoing to state regulators is a “statutorily protected activity” and that an employer can’t retaliate against an employee for doing it. “It may be uncomfortable to keep someone employed, but the law protects the person. You can only imagine what would happen to complaints of wrongdoing if employers could fire you and there was nothing you could do about it.”
The law protecting whistleblowers is in place, Yormak said, “To encourage people to come forward without fear of retribution from the employer.”