Worker fired after expressing safety concerns; OSHA files lawsuit
September 21, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Compliance, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, OSHA news, fire/explosion, whistleblower
An employee of a government contractor was laid off shortly after expressing safety concerns to upper management at his company. Now OSHA is getting involved.
OSHA has filed a whistleblower lawsuit on behalf of an employee of Bering Sea Eccotech, based in Anchorage, Alaska.
The worker complained about safety violations after observing two dangerous explosions. The company barred the employee from being rehired.
An OSHA investigation revealed that the former employee’s complaint had merit. The company still refused to rehire the employee or pay back wages.
The lawsuit seeks to reinstate the employee, secure compensatory damages and lost wages, and require the company to post a notice for 60 days that explains employee rights under the whistleblower section of the OSH Act.
Bering Sea Eccotech specializes in unexploded ordnance clean-up, range management and remediation services.
The company is responsible for cleaning up unexploded ordnance at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in San Diego.
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Tags: Bering Sea Eccotech, Camp Pendleton Marine base, whistleblower
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September 21st, 2009 at 9:13 am
[...] Read more here: Worker fired after expressin… [...]
September 28th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
seems to be quite a bit of missing information in this article from both sides, difficult to leave feedback with an information void. Tried to follow the link above but it just keeps taking you back to the original article.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Editor’s note: Following the link in the second paragraph will take you to information provided by OSHA.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Thank you, the link is working now, but I still have to say that there is not enough info, the article just states that the company will not reinstate the employee. What was the complaint filed by the employee? What reasons were given from the company not rehiring the employee? At this time I do not have an opinion either way, but I am also not going to take the word of a Government agency about something being right or wrong, on to many occasions they seem to go the wrong way on a decision.