Local

SeaWorld files complaint against OSHA investigator

ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld has filed a complaint that alleges a government investigator who probed a SeaWorld trainer's death engaged in unethical conduct by fraternizing with makers of a documentary critical of the park.

The six-page complaint, sent to the Labor Department on Thursday, says that SeaWorld believes Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator Lara Padgett "violated the Standards of Ethical Conduct for government employees."

Padgett investigated the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Brancheau was pulled into a pool by a 12,000-pound killer whale named Tilikum and drowned.

The complaint also includes what it said are examples of Padgett's violations of federal statute, such as posting critical comments about SeaWorld on social media and pictures of her attending film festivals with makers of the "Blackfish" documentary.

A spokesman for OSHA's inspector general's office declined to comment.