Fired driving instructor’s whistleblower lawsuit crashes at Iowa appeals court

That was the start of the friction. 

When the student needed extra time to finish the curriculum, the instructor reminded an administrator that Iowa’s third-party testing rules required a different instructor to handle the student’s final test. According to the petition, the administrator did not make that reassignment. The instructor reported the potential violation to a CDL auditor at the Iowa Department of Transportation. After his report, the DOT audited the college’s CDL program. 

The college fired him in February 2025, alleging “inefficiency, incompetence or negligence in the performance of his duties . . . .” The instructor denied any performance problems and alleged college staff forged his signature on a performance improvement plan. 

He sued on two fronts. First, he argued his firing violated public policy because he had reported regulatory breaches. Second, he claimed protection under Iowa Code section 70A.28 – the state’s whistleblower law for government employees. 

Both claims failed, for entirely different reasons.