Where a truck driver was terminated soon after he revealed that he had collected and submitted evidence showing his company violating the law, and the company admitted that it terminated him in part because he removed and copied documents and recorded employee conversations, he was awarded $107,940.07 in backpay and $5,000 in emotional distress damages.
Background
While Theodore Huang was employed as a truck driver at Greatwide Dedicated Transport II LLC, he witnessed certain drivers receive additional driving assignments in violation of 49 C.F.R. § 395.3, which regulates the maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles. After collecting evidence related to the violations, Huang submitted anonymous letters to management reporting his findings. Soon thereafter, Huang revealed to management personnel that he was the author of the letters.
The following month, Huang was assigned to deliver two trailers filled with merchandise to two Nordstrom store locations in New York and New Jersey. However, when Huang returned from this assignment, he was suspended for — what Greatwide claimed to be — violations of company policy. Greatwide subsequently terminated and dismissed Huang without a more explicit explanation.
Huang promptly filed a whistleblower complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The administrative law judge, or ALJ, ruled in Huang’s favor, ordering Greatwide to pay $107,940.07 in backpay and $5,000 in emotional distress damages. The...
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