A worker who reported being injured when the chair she sat in at work broke cannot be fired for failing to “inspect the chair.” The Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board upheld OSHA's finding that the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation of New York and New Jersey violated the rights of an employee when it disciplined the worker for exercising her rights under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. The broken chair caused to worker to fall and sustain an injury. When she reported the injury, the railroad charged her with having caused the accident by failing to "inspect the chair" before sitting in it. The worker then filed a complaint with OSHA, which found in 2010 that the company had violated the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA.
OSHA ordered PATH to pay $1,000 in punitive damages and to take corrective actions, which included expunging disciplinary actions and references to them from various records as well as compensating the worker for attorneys' fees.