Whistleblowers Blow their Whistles While They Work

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It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear.

-Henry David Thoreau

The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Pilgrim Pride Corp. reached a $50,000 settlement in a 2012 whistleblower case. The case began when a manager for water reclamation at Pilgrim Pride’s processing plant informed the Texas Commission on Environment Quality (TCEQ) that he found contaminants such as mercury, chromium and lead being discharged into the environment. These waters may eventually reach the public waters and seriously affect public health.

OSHA initiated their investigation upon receiving a letter from the whistleblower. The terms of the settlement involve Pilgrim Pride paying the whistleblower $50,000 and posting signs about whistleblower rights in their places of work.

OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program

OSHA’s whistleblower program protects employees who report violations of workplace safety in a number of employment areas by enforcing whistleblower provisions of various statutes. The breadth of the whistleblower program is exemplified by the following 21 statutes, whose whistleblower provisions are enforced by OSHA:

Occupational Safety & Health Act. OSHA is the enforcing agency for this act.
Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. This act includes protecting employees reporting asbestos violations in schools.
Clean Air Act. This act includes shielding reporters of violations of air emissions.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. There are provisions in this law that guard reporters of alleged violations relating to cleanup of hazardous waste sites.
Federal Water Pollution Control Act. This act includes shielding employees who report alleged violations relating to discharge of pollutants into water.
Energy Reorganization Act. Provisions in this law guard any worker who reports violations of the ERA or the Atomic Energy Act.
Safe Drinking Water Act. This act includes protecting any worker who reports alleged violations relating to drinking water.
Solid Waste Disposal Act. Provisions in this law guard employees who report alleged violations relating to the disposal of solid and hazardous waste .
Toxic Substances Control Act. This act includes protecting workers who report alleged violations relating to industrial chemicals produced or imported into the United States.
Federal Railroad Safety Act. This act includes shielding employees of railroad carriers who report safety violations or abuse of public funds designated for railroad safety.
International Safe Container Act. Provisions in this law guard workers involved in international shipping who report to the Coast Guard the existence of an unsafe cargo container.
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. This act includes protecting whistleblowers reporting about motor vehicle defects or other violations.
National Transit Systems Security Act. This act includes protecting transit workers who report a hazardous safety or security condition or the abuse of federal grants.
Pipeline Safety Improvement Act. This act includes shielding whistleblowers reporting violations of federal laws related to pipeline safety and security .
Seaman’s Protection Act. This act includes protecting employees who report to the Coast Guard or another federal agency a violation of a maritime safety law or regulation.
Surface Transportation Assistance Act. Provisions in this law guard truck drivers and other employees who refuse to violate regulations related to the safety of commercial motor vehicles.
Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century. This act includes shielding employees of air carriers and contractors and subcontractors of air carriers who report violations of laws related to aviation.
Affordable Care Act. This act includes protecting employees who report violations of any provision of title I of the ACA.
Consumer Financial Protection Act. Provisions in this law guard employees who blow the whistle on violations of any provision of the Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This act includes shielding employees of certain companies who report alleged violations of the SEC rules and regulations or violation of federal laws related to fraud against shareholders.
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act This act includes protecting workers of food manufacturers who report a transgression of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or a regulation promulgated under the Act.
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This act includes shielding reporters of any statute or regulation within the jurisdiction of the Consumer Safety Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

OSHA’s whistleblower program protects workers from retaliatory acts by their employers including:

Intimidation
Threats
Unjustified discipline
Reduction in hours or pay
Termination
Demotion
Refusal to hire
Denial of overtime or promotion
Reassignment to a dead-end position

Any employee who experiences any of these adverse employment actions needs to consult a Texas whistleblower attorney immediately.

By Admin | Published September 5, 2013 | Posted in Employee Rights | Tagged OSHA whistleblower protection program

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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.