"Stay in Your Lane": Former Employees Says WAPA Fired Him After Pointing Out Chronic Negligence, Shoddy Conditions

A man hired and fired from the Water and Power Authority in less than two months is now suing for wrongful termination, saying that he was fired for bringing attention to the negligent and shoddy way the utility has been running its St. Croix laboratory.

Carl Potter Jr. was recruited as a laboratory supervisor for WAPA, working as a microbiologist in the St. Croix laboratory. Prior to joining the team on December 11, 2023, Mr. Potter had spent 34 years at the Water Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, working as a laboratory scientist supervisor. His earlier career was also spent managing and supervising laboratory operations at “several large reference labs in the Washington D.C. metro area,” according to the court filing. His attorneys also described Mr. Potter’s several awards and time spent training naval medical residents in laboratory procedures in their quest to establish his credentials.

Before agreeing to take the job, Mr. Potter had reportedly been told that he would receive training on the software, procedures, and other matters necessary to execute his job. He said he was also assured that WAPA made certain its lab operations and employees followed the necessary regulatory and statutory requirements.

Mr. Potter alleges that almost as soon as he began the job, he discovered that neither representation was true.