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A former city electrical inspector has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the City of Minot, alleging he was involuntarily forced to leave his position for reporting violations of the electrical code.
In a complaint filed in North Central District Court, Todd Mickelson is seeking back pay and employee benefits in excess of $75,000, interest on monetary damages and his court costs.
Mickelson was employed as an electrical inspector with the city from Sept. 22, 2014, until his termination on June 19, 2022. His complaint states that during his time as electrical inspector, his superiors constantly blocked his efforts to comply with codes, laws, regulations and standards governing the installation and repair of electrical service.
Among incidents cited in the complaint, Mickelson alleges:
- An ordinance was amended to eliminate his ability to order a disconnect in an emergency after he used the authority against a homeowner who refused to take corrective action following a windstorm that left unfused wires without protection to an open circuit in event of a fault.
- He was criticized by the building inspector for requesting an evaluation and engineering design to meet the National Fire Protection Act following an electrical short at the "Big M" building. In inspecting the newly installed electrode system installed for the building owner, Mickelson discovered a water line had frozen and burst, leaving the sprinkler system inoperable. The building inspector dismissed his concerns.
- He discovered water saturation of a meter bank from a frozen pipe that burst in an apartment building. Although he told superiors it is a violation of electrical standards to allow the equipment to remain without reconditioning or replacement, nothing was ever done.
- A different inspector was assigned when he objected to Canadian-manufactured lighting at the Minot State University sports bubble that did not have a U.S. safety listing.
- When he and another inspector informed the contractor and their superiors that a group of new townhomes needed separate disconnect devices rather than a single disconnect, they were overruled.
- A newly hired electrical inspector was accompanied on his initial inspections by a plumber after being told Mickelson "could not be trusted."
- Raising the issue at a staff meeting of a homeowner who refused to allow an inspection to ensure unlicensed wiring was corrected, he was accused of "insubordination, inefficiency and incompetence."
According to the complaint, on June 15, 2022, Mickelson was offered a 20% pay decrease for 180 days, permanent demotion or resignation/dismissal. Although he didn't believe the options were deserved, he agreed to the pay cut. On June 16, 2022, he was placed on administrative leave and four days later was told to resign or be terminated.
Mickelson is represented by the Wilking and Fremstad law firms in Fargo. The City of Minot is represented by the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund's appointed counsel, Brian Schmidt, and has not yet filed a response to the complaint.