The owner of a marine construction company allegedly created hostile working conditions by making physically threatening gestures, making inappropriate sexual comments and advances, yelling, screaming – and withholding the paycheck of an employee who objected to that behavior.
In mid-January, in a press conference in front of Target Corporation headquarters in downtown Minneapolis, over two dozen employees of retail cleaning companies that clean Target stores in the Twin Cities metro area announced OSHA complaints that were filed January 17th. The complaints allege that workers, who are employees of the cleaning contractors, are locked in the Target stores and must find a manager to unlock doors if there is a need to exit the building.
OSHA is considering allowing whistleblowers to submit their complaints online. That new method is part of a proposal by the agency to provide additional methods for employees to submit retaliation complaints to the agency, including electronic submission.
OSHA is launching an alternative dispute resolution pilot program for complaints filed with the agency’s Whistleblower Protection Program. The test program is aimed at helping complainants and employers resolve disputes in a cooperative and voluntary manner.
Fears of discrimination and retaliation sometimes prevent miners from objecting to health and safety violations, according to Mine Safety and Health Administration chief Joseph Main.
An employee who was terminated two days after filing a health complaint with OSHA is the subject of a lawsuit that seeks to have him reinstated and paid back wages.
OSHA has ordered Brush Creek-based Mark Alvis Inc., owner Mark Alvis and company dispatcher Jack Taylor to reinstate a former employee and pay him more than $180,000 in back pay, interest, and compensatory and punitive damages.
OSHA has filed a lawsuit to force the owner of a Colorado medical clinic to rehire the employee who was fired after complaining about hazards at the facility.