A recent decision from DOL’s Administrative Review Board serves as a reminder that safety complaints do not insulate employees from discipline for misconduct.
The case involved a tired truck driver who parked his truck on a highway shoulder so he could rest. He activated the truck’s hazard flashers but failed to follow safety procedures required by company policies and federal regulations. He also failed to notify his dispatcher that he had stopped. After his manager initiated termination proceedings, the driver reported that he had stopped because of fatigue. After the company fired him, the driver filed an OSHA complaint alleging that the company had retaliated against him.
The ARB upheld the termination, finding that the employer fired him for his safety violations and had decided to do so before he reported the safety concern.
Employers can defend legitimate safety-based discipline from later claims of retaliation by ensuring that employees know how to raise safety concerns, documenting decisions as they develop, and preserving evidence of comparable treatment in similar situations.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.