Every so often an OSHA “head-scratcher” item appears in the news.
In 2008, there was one about what happens when “horseplay” causes injuries in the workplace. OSHA determined in a Feb. 9, 2008, Letter of Interpretation that when horseplay between workers turns violent, any resulting injuries are to be considered as recordable. That ruling stemmed from an inquiry from a contractors group at a BP Products North America Inc. petroleum facility in Whiting, IN, near Chicago in which two workers escalated banter at the end of their shift into a fight and one stabbed the other with a knife.
A new musing on the OSHA front hit the news just before the dawn of the 2010 New Year – the agency announcing Dec. 29 that it had seized a 1992 black Corvette at the home of the president of a Howell, NJ construction company after the owner failed to pay $7,500 in back wages to a former employee in a whistleblower action.
The news surely served to give a case of heartburn to those concerned with issues like private property rights and unfettered government intrusion. Through the years lawsuits have challenged the power of enforcement agencies like OSHA but typically have not prevailed.
Fired Worker
In the Corvette seizure case, Richard Kohler, president of Brocon Petroleum Inc., had refused to fulfill a judgment that instructed him to reimburse the former employee, so OSHA snatched up his vintage ride. Robert Kulik, OSHA's regional administrator in New York, said in a statement that the action and will “send a clear message that there will be consequences for retaliating against employees who engage in activities protected by law.
OSHA’s investigation of Brocon Petroleum, which specializes in building municipal sanitation projects, determined that the company fired employee Scott Shevlin because it believed he called OSHA anonymously to complain about safety conditions. The Department of Labor sued Brocon Petroleum and Kohler on Shevlin’s behalf in 2008 in the whistleblower action.
The company actually settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay Shevlin back wages among other sanctions, but never did, according to officials, prompting OSHA officials, agents from the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General and U.S. marshals to take the car.
OSH Act Protected Activity
As all employers are urged to understand, firing a worker who complains about safety conditions in the workplace is viewed as retaliation for a protected activity under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Shevlin allegedly was fired the actual day OSHA compliance officers inspected the worksite in August 2005 – a definite no-no.
Under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, OSHA investigates about 1,100 complaints involving safety and health annually. Workers typically prevail in about a quarter of them.
Perhaps it is also little known that OSHA is the primary federal agency that enforces whistleblower rights of workers in private industry for the government, investigating claims through its Directorate of Enforcement that encompass more than a dozen other federal statutes covering transportation, aviation, the environment and corporate fraud in addition to safety and health.
Congress May Strengthen Laws
Additionally, Congress is considering strengthening whistleblower laws across the board. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-CA, who has studied the issue as chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in the House Education and Labor Committee, has said intimidation and blacklisting of workers who blow the whistle is rampant despite laws.
Labor law attorneys advise employers always to inform workers that nothing they say to OSHA compliance officers during inspections will be used to change the terms and conditions of their employment. When the OSH Act was crafted, Congress reasoned that workers are most familiar with workplace hazards and they should be protected when they report them.
In 2008, there was one about what happens when “horseplay” causes injuries in the workplace. OSHA determined in a Feb. 9, 2008, Letter of Interpretation that when horseplay between workers turns violent, any resulting injuries are to be considered as recordable. That ruling stemmed from an inquiry from a contractors group at a BP Products North America Inc. petroleum facility in Whiting, IN, near Chicago in which two workers escalated banter at the end of their shift into a fight and one stabbed the other with a knife.
A new musing on the OSHA front hit the news just before the dawn of the 2010 New Year – the agency announcing Dec. 29 that it had seized a 1992 black Corvette at the home of the president of a Howell, NJ construction company after the owner failed to pay $7,500 in back wages to a former employee in a whistleblower action.
The news surely served to give a case of heartburn to those concerned with issues like private property rights and unfettered government intrusion. Through the years lawsuits have challenged the power of enforcement agencies like OSHA but typically have not prevailed.
Fired Worker
In the Corvette seizure case, Richard Kohler, president of Brocon Petroleum Inc., had refused to fulfill a judgment that instructed him to reimburse the former employee, so OSHA snatched up his vintage ride. Robert Kulik, OSHA's regional administrator in New York, said in a statement that the action and will “send a clear message that there will be consequences for retaliating against employees who engage in activities protected by law.
OSHA’s investigation of Brocon Petroleum, which specializes in building municipal sanitation projects, determined that the company fired employee Scott Shevlin because it believed he called OSHA anonymously to complain about safety conditions. The Department of Labor sued Brocon Petroleum and Kohler on Shevlin’s behalf in 2008 in the whistleblower action.
The company actually settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay Shevlin back wages among other sanctions, but never did, according to officials, prompting OSHA officials, agents from the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General and U.S. marshals to take the car.
OSH Act Protected Activity
As all employers are urged to understand, firing a worker who complains about safety conditions in the workplace is viewed as retaliation for a protected activity under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Shevlin allegedly was fired the actual day OSHA compliance officers inspected the worksite in August 2005 – a definite no-no.
Under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, OSHA investigates about 1,100 complaints involving safety and health annually. Workers typically prevail in about a quarter of them.
Perhaps it is also little known that OSHA is the primary federal agency that enforces whistleblower rights of workers in private industry for the government, investigating claims through its Directorate of Enforcement that encompass more than a dozen other federal statutes covering transportation, aviation, the environment and corporate fraud in addition to safety and health.
Congress May Strengthen Laws
Additionally, Congress is considering strengthening whistleblower laws across the board. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-CA, who has studied the issue as chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in the House Education and Labor Committee, has said intimidation and blacklisting of workers who blow the whistle is rampant despite laws.
Labor law attorneys advise employers always to inform workers that nothing they say to OSHA compliance officers during inspections will be used to change the terms and conditions of their employment. When the OSH Act was crafted, Congress reasoned that workers are most familiar with workplace hazards and they should be protected when they report them.
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