AUBURN – A judge has ruled in favor of an electrician who blew the whistle on work done by unlicensed employees at Saddleback Ski Area four years ago.

An Androscoggin County Superior Court judge awarded Robert Duggan Jr., 37, formerly of Minot, back pay of nearly $2,000 and damages totaling $22,500.

An attorney for Saddleback said his client is considering an appeal.

A jury in June awarded Duggan $84,000 in back pay and damages on related counts brought under the lawsuit.

Under the judgment signed last week by Justice Joyce Wheeler, Farmington-based Integrity Electrical Installation and Service Inc. discriminated against Duggan in violation of the Maine Human Rights Act and the Whistleblowers Protection Act. She also ruled that Saddleback coerced or compelled the electrical contractor because Duggan blew the whistle.

The Maine Human Rights Commission had sued along with Duggan on the three counts ruled on by the judge under the Maine Human Rights Act.

Wheeler wrote that the two companies are “enjoined from engaging in any policy or practice that retaliates against” Duggan.

Duggan, a master electrician, filed the lawsuit in connection with the renovation of the Saddleback ski lodge in 2004.

He worked as a foreman for Integrity on that job. Under new ownership, the Rangeley ski resort undertook a $20 million project that included new lifts, trails and snowmaking equipment.

Duggan said he was fired because he expressed concern over work that violated state electrical codes performed by unlicensed workers employed both by Saddleback and a Michigan company contracted to install snowmaking equipment on the mountain.

He reported to his immediate boss that the work was done in a potentially dangerous manner. He also expressed his concerns to the manager at Saddleback. Due to inaction on their parts, Duggan eventually told a state electrical inspector.

Duggan’s attorney, Rebecca Webber, showed in court that both the ski area and the general contractor, Sargent & Sons Buildings, pressured Duggan’s bosses at Integrity to fire him.

Sargent and Integrity declined to defend against the allegations at trial.

On Tuesday, Webber said she and Duggan were “extremely happy,” but not surprised by the judgment.

Duggan, like other people who live and work in Maine, spoke up when he saw something wrong, Webber said. “I think he did do the right thing.” Although it took four years for a decision in this case, other workers shouldn’t be reluctant to blow the whistle under similar circumstances, she said.

Steven Langsdorf, an attorney for Saddleback, argued in court that it was Integrity, not Saddleback, that sought to reassign Duggan after he confronted other workers on the project at a local bar one night and insulted them.

Duggan and the Human Rights Commission went after Saddleback because Integrity and Sargent had gone out of business, Langsdorf said Tuesday.

“I strongly disagree with the judgment,” he said.

John Gause, an attorney for the commission, said Tuesday that the state was pleased by the ruling. It was consistent with the jury’s verdict on two related counts, he noted.