Ag Department whistleblower will not lose job

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A whistleblower who went public with concerns about inaction by a state agency will not lose his job.

Rick Herchenbach inspects commercial dog and cat kennels. He claims he wasn’t allowed to report severe cases of abuse and neglect to law enforcement.

Herchenbach and his lawyer have agreed to a settlement with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, which they say means a six-month disciplinary probation will be dropped and expunged from his personnel file.

But the inspector hopes his case leads to changes in policy.

“Where we are able to like the law dictates to report neglect and cruelty to law enforcement when we suspect it,” said Herchenbach.

“There is job security, but Rick’s case also shows the difficulties that whistleblowers face because you win one round and there’s another round so whistleblowing is still difficult,” said John Rehm, attorney.

A civil suit against the state for alleged retaliation will still go forward.

In a statement, the state Ag Department says the decision was made to rescind the disciplinary probation to avoid the inconvenience for an outside witness who needed to appear.