A federal court ordered a Milford, Connecticut, sports bar to pay a total of $359,485 in back pay, emotional distress damages, withheld compensation, and punitive damages to employees who were fired after participating in an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection, the agency announced February 7.
Department of Labor (DOL) attorneys filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Milford Sports Bars LLC, doing business as Champions Grill and Bar, and Loren Drotos, also known as Mark Roberts, Mark Drotos, and Mark Lawrence. The DOL alleged that, after employees were fired, the employers sought to further discourage employees from engaging in protected activities, such as cooperating with federal investigators, sending a message to employees that they shouldn’t talk to OSHA inspectors.
“Discouraging or preventing workers from participating in an OSHA inspection may mask or delay identification of hazards that could harm workers,” Galen Blanton, OSHA’s Boston regional administrator, said in a statement. “Employees have a right to participate in OSHA inspections and to file a whistleblower complaint if their employer retaliates against them for exercising their rights.”
OSHA’s whistleblower protection authority was established in the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to protect workers who lodge safety or health complaints or cooperate with agency investigations of workplace safety and health violations. OSHA is...
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