Whistleblowers - Articles - Page 2

Avoiding repeat mistakes: Whistleblowers, ethics, risk management and due diligence

December 4, 2020

In this series, the concept of and need for whistleblowers will be explored along with historical and present-day cases. In this part one, the concept of whistleblowers, OSHA’s language regarding them and types of whistleblower reports are explored.

Editorial Comments

Workers must feel safe: Those going back to work are risking their lives

Benita Mehta

October 14, 2020

As the U.S. has begun to reopen with the coronavirus continuing to affect the country six months after many shelter-in-place mandates developed, workers across a multitude of industries — from manufacturing plants to agriculture to meat processing — are getting sick.

Editorial Comments

COVID-19 safety concerns lead to rising OSHA whistleblower complaints

Benita Mehta

September 16, 2020

There have been some unsettling reports recently of large increases in the number of whistleblower complaints to OSHA related to COVID-19.

National COSH: OSHA whistleblower complaints skyrocket during COVID-19

Illegal retaliation puts workers at risk, say safety advocates, as Inspector General warns of delays and calls for faster investigations

September 10, 2020

As complaints of retaliation against whistleblowers skyrocket during the COVID-19 pandemic, safety advocates say workers’ lives are at risk due to a slow and inadequate response from the OSHA.

OSHA reminds employers they can't retaliate against whistleblowers

April 15, 2020

OSHA is reminding employers that it is illegal to retaliate against workers because they report unsafe and unhealthful working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Should you be afraid to report workplace injuries?

Howard Ankin

February 6, 2020

Employees should not be afraid to report workplace injuries or hazardous conditions. The Occupational Safety and Health Act prohibits employer retaliation against employees who report workplace violations or file work injury claims. OSHA regulations mandate workplace safety for all employees.

Seaman fired for cooperating with investigation into his brother’s death

Company found guilty of retaliation, ordered to pay

December 23, 2019

A whistleblower investigation by the OSHA has found that Bouchard Transportation Company Inc., B. No. 272 Corp – a petroleum barge company based in Melville, New York – and its officers violated the whistleblower protection provisions of the Seaman’s Protection Act (SPA) when it retaliated against a seaman who cooperated with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).

An amputation, an investigation, and retaliation

How a Pa. company ended up with a million dollar bill for firing two employees

September 3, 2019

The termination of two employees who participated in an OSHA investigation into a workplace injury has resulted in a federal judge ordering their former employee to pay them $1,047,399 in lost wages and punitive damages. The case began with a workplace incident in which one of the employees' co-workers suffered the amputation of three fingers.

Company illegally fired employees after amputation

Co-workers who cooperated with OSHA terminated

Maureen Paraventi

May 9, 2019

Five years of legal wrangling following a workplace amputation – in which retaliation, intrigue and secret photos played a part – ended recently with a decision by a federal jury in Pennsylvania. The jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that Lloyd Industries Inc. and its owner, William P. Lloyd, unlawfully fired two employees because of their involvement in an OSHA investigation.

Worker reports serious injury; employer gets him arrested by ICE

Text messages, phone calls tell the tale

March 21, 2019

OSHA has filed a lawsuit against a Boston, Massachusetts-based contractor, alleging that the company retaliated against an injured employee by facilitating his arrest. The complaint filed last month with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Tara Construction Inc. and its chief executive officer, Pedro Pirez, states that the worker sustained a serious injury when he fell from a ladder on March 29, 2017. He reported his injury to his employers. OSHA found out about the fall and investigated.