OSHA rules in favor of Metro-North worker
What does OSHA have to do with railroad worker safety? It's explained.
OSHA rules in favor of Metro-North worker
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded an MTA Metro-North Railroad employee who was injured in 2011 the largest punitive damages ever awarded in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA).
Metro-North has been ordered to pay the unnamed employee $250,000 in punitive damages, $10,000 in compensatory damages, and reasonable attorney fees following an investigation determining that the employee, a coach cleaner, was retaliated against after reporting a knee injury he suffered on Nov. 17, 2011.
When employees, fearing retaliation, hesitate to report work-related injuries and the safety hazards that caused them, companies cannot fix safety problems and neither employees nor the public are safe, said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. In this case, Metro-Norths conduct was deliberate and discriminatory, and we have assessed the maximum amount in punitive damages allowed under the law.
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OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA Act and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, maritime, and securities laws. Under these laws, 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. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct can file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor for an investigation by OSHAs Whistleblower Protection Program.