Search Site
Menu

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Fined for Whistleblower Harassment

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has had plenty of public troubles lately, the most recent of which has resulted in a fine of more than $50,000 after the agency was found guilty of harassing a whistleblower.

The fine has its roots in an incident from August 2012. At that time, inspectors from the state Public Employees Safety and Health Bureau were visiting the MTA’s Linden Shop maintenance facility and questioned the supervisor, Mark Ruggerio, about the condition of a drill press. When Ruggerio said that it was broken, one of the nearby employees disagreed, and turned the (working) machine on. Then, in front of inspectors, Ruggerio threatened the employee with a restriction and loss of future overtime work.

Inspectors told Ruggerio that he needed to stop, as his threats were retaliatory, but he continued anyway. The worker eventually filed an OSHA whistleblower complaint and was soon transferred to another position. But the drama didn’t stop there.

In the summer of 2013, the same employee reported additional harassment by his new supervisor to OSHA, and it was discovered that the new supervisor had shared certain information about the employee to his coworkers, which led them to shun him.

Now, OSHA has ordered MTA to pay more than $50,000 to the employee in damages and expunge all of his employment records. The MTA will appeal the decision.

For more information on steps you can take when you believe you have been the victim of workplace retaliation, contact the trusted Dallas attorneys at Whistleblower Law for Managers today.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Awards & Honors
Our Office
  • Dallas Office
    4514 Cole Ave
    #600
    Dallas, Texas 75205
    Phone: 214-306-8045
    Fax: 469-729-9926
As Seen In
In his new book, "Standing Up to China: How a Whistleblower Risked Everything for His Country," former client & Author, Ashley Yablon, quotes Attorney Steve Kardell about Whistelblower Law.
Testimonials
  • "Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission."  -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower

  • "Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone."  -V.B.

  • "Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them."  -KS

  • "Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best."  -S.S.