A consent judgment filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma provides for injunctive relief, reinstatement of the employee [image-nocss] as a full-time cashier and payment of $17,000 in back wages. The judgment also requires the defendants to post notices at their facilities of the OSHA's anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation provisions.
"Every employee has the right to a safe and healthful workplace, and no one should ever fear losing a job or facing retaliation by an employer for exercising that right," said William A. Burke, OSHA's acting regional administrator in Dallas. "This settlement underscores the Labor Department's commitment to protect workers who have been treated unfairly simply for doing the right thing."
The OSHA whistleblower investigation found that the employee, a cashier at the Kwick Stop store in Shawnee, had complained to a supervisor that beverage boxes inside the cooler were stacked too high and were creating a safety hazard. When the supervisor failed to correct the hazard, the employee filed a complaint with the local OSHA office. A few weeks later, the worker was fired.
The Labor Department does not release names of employees involved in whistleblower complaints.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act and 20 additional statutes protecting employees who report violations of various securities laws; trucking, airline, nuclear, pipeline, environmental, rail and workplace safety and health regulations; and consumer product and food safety laws. Under the various whistleblower provisions enacted by Congress, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government.
Under the OSHA Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.
The case is Solis v. Modern Oil Co. Inc. et al, Case No. 5:10-cv-00748-M.
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