Friday, February 26, 2016
OSHA Orders Reinstatement, Damages of Alaskan Whistleblower Pilot
The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered an Alaska aviation company to pay years of back wages and $100,000 in compensatory damages and to reinstate a pilot who had been suspended, then fired and ostracized among the close-knit industry for reporting safety concerns at work.
Bald Mountain Air Services violated federal whistleblower laws with its actions against the employee in 2012. With 35 years of aviation experience, the pilot for the Homer-based company raised repeated safety concerns at work ranging from missed drug tests for pilots to poor recordkeeping.
“Voicing safety concerns at work should never cost someone their job,” said OSHA Acting Regional Administrator Galen Blanton. “This employee should be hired back, compensated and treated fairly from here on out.”
In addition to paying compensatory damages, OSHA’s order requires Bald Mountain Air Services to expunge the pilot's employment records of any reference to the exercise of his rights under federal whistleblower law and any reference to the adverse actions taken against him.
Both the respondent and complainant have 30 days from the receipt of these findings to file objections and to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. If no objections are filed, the findings will become final and not subject to court review.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of more than 21 statutes protecting employees who report violations of various commercial motor carrier, airline, nuclear, pipeline, environmental, public transportation agency, consumer product, motor vehicle safety, railroad, maritime, healthcare reform, food safety, securities and financial reform laws.
Bald Mountain Air Services violated federal whistleblower laws with its actions against the employee in 2012. With 35 years of aviation experience, the pilot for the Homer-based company raised repeated safety concerns at work ranging from missed drug tests for pilots to poor recordkeeping.
“Voicing safety concerns at work should never cost someone their job,” said OSHA Acting Regional Administrator Galen Blanton. “This employee should be hired back, compensated and treated fairly from here on out.”
In addition to paying compensatory damages, OSHA’s order requires Bald Mountain Air Services to expunge the pilot's employment records of any reference to the exercise of his rights under federal whistleblower law and any reference to the adverse actions taken against him.
Both the respondent and complainant have 30 days from the receipt of these findings to file objections and to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. If no objections are filed, the findings will become final and not subject to court review.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of more than 21 statutes protecting employees who report violations of various commercial motor carrier, airline, nuclear, pipeline, environmental, public transportation agency, consumer product, motor vehicle safety, railroad, maritime, healthcare reform, food safety, securities and financial reform laws.
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