A new federal ruling says the Utah Transit Authority illegally fired a transit planner for warning the agency that it was violating safety rules.
That worker, J. Michael Clara, says UTA cut corners to speed work on bus stop amenities as it tried to generate positive publicity just before the 2015 Proposition 1 vote on whether to raise transit taxes. UTA has denied that and the judge said there wasn’t enough evidence to sustain the claimed connection to the election.
Clara also says UTA bosses were upset with him for saying its TRAX crossings do not meet federal standards, a problem that may have led to the death of a man whose girlfriend says his wheelchair became wedged in a gap at one before he was hit.