The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has filed a complaint with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission against Ferraiolo Construction Inc. to reinstate a worker to his former position and provide compensation for wages lost as a result of his being unlawfully fired.
On Nov. 29, 2011, a complaint was filed with MSHA against Ferraiolo, alleging that the company had terminated the miner's employment on Sept. 30, 2011, at Thomaston, Maine-based Portable Pioneer Plant, in retaliation for his having made recurring safety complaints. MSHA investigated the complaint and found that the miner had engaged in protected activity when he alerted the company about unresolved safety problems, refused to turn on the plant's generator until required safety guards had been installed, and called MSHA to report the company's failure to install those safety guards. Portable Pioneer Plant is a stone crushing operation that produces gravel for use by public and cement mills.