Job Corps worker claims she was fired for blowing the whistle

A Job Corps worker who claims she was fired March 23 for blowing the whistle on her employer filed suit for back pay, reinstatement and punitive damages in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Yoshiko White claims she helped draft a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in November 2006 complaining that Dynamic Educational Systems, Inc. -- which runs the Job Corps program in Illinois and Wisconsin -- ignored DOL income requirements and other eligibility requirements when enrolling youth/students.

Job Corps is a job placement and training program for disadvantaged youth ages 16 through 24.

White started working for Job Corps in 1998, when another contractor, DEL-JEN, Inc., ran the program in Illinois.

She was promoted in 1999 to Illinois Manager and again in December 2003 when she was named Deputy Project Director, the complaint filed May 21 states.

She was recognized by the DOL in 2004 and 2005 as an "outstanding successful Job Corps Alumni Alfa Award" nominee for being a graduate of the program and for her commitment to helping disadvantaged youth throughout the Chicago region, the complaint states.

In the fall of 2006 White held the position admission/state trainer, which is when the defendant began running the program, the complaint states.

Represented by Susan M. Andorfer of Belleville, White claims the defendant's actions were willful, wanton, malicious and with conscious disregard.