it House News on March 22, according to the Fox Business website of the United States, according to documents released by lawyers, John Barnett, the whistleblower on Boeing safety issues who died this month, said before his death that he was tortured while working at Boeing. He was surveilled by a manager and "harassed, denigrated and humiliated" for raising concerns about Boeing's quality control practices.
reported that on March 9, Barnett, 62, "died from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound." At the time of his death, Barnett was suing Boeing over his March 2017 firing, demanding that the company pay him compensation for unpaid wages, deprivation of benefits and emotional distress.
It is reported that during the seven years that Barnett worked at Boeing's South Carolina plant, he made multiple complaints about Boeing's concealment of quality-related truths, and he and other quality personnel were pressured by Boeing's top management.
Barnett has repeatedly complained that the factory stole parts from an aircraft and installed them on unfinished aircraft without any records or engineering review. The company retaliated for his complaints by giving him low performance ratings and subjecting him to isolation and "suffering from ridicule and scorn from senior management."
Barnett was blacklisted from promotion at Boeing after he complained about mechanics being asked to use scrap parts from planes without authorization. Company officials asked him to stop complaining about Boeing employees taking parts from planes and installing them in other planes. Barnett was publicly reprimanded in front of his colleagues and moved to a new team.
it House compiled the retaliatory treatment suffered by Barnett in this report as follows:
In 2012, a supervisor "required Barnett to perform work that was inconsistent with correct procedures." He sent an email to complain to another supervisor, but this person did not He told Barnett personally that he did not believe his story and did not launch an investigation into the matter.
In 2014, the company developed a 60-day "corrective action plan" for Barnett. Human Resources told him an investigation into his conduct was underway.
Barnett told lawyers he was concerned his employer was spying on him, and in June 2014 he complained about another manager spying on him.
In July 2015, his team was reassigned without his knowledge.
In 2016, he was removed by the company from an investigation into defective passenger oxygen masks that found 75 of 300 masks were inoperable. After being transferred, he claimed the investigation never resolved the issue.
In January 2017, Barnett was told that his name was listed as "one of 49" in an email a supervisor received titled "Quality Manager to be Fired."
Boeing issued a statement regarding Barnett's death: "We are saddened by the passing of Mr. Barnett and our thoughts are with his family and friends. Boeing has reviewed and addressed the concerns raised by Mr. Barnett prior to his retirement in 2017. quality issues, as well as other quality issues cited in 2020 complaints regarding the handling of Mr. Barnett's claims."
Police in Charleston County, South Carolina, said earlier this month that "the case has attracted global attention" and is being Determine Barnett's cause of death. An indictment filed during Barnett's lifetime is currently pending and a hearing in the case is scheduled for June.
