TYLER, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against Tyler Pipe Company alleging violations of federal whistleblower protections after the company fired an employee because they requested to use a respirator to protect them from smoke and fumes in the work area.
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The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation at Tyler Pipe Company after learning of the alleged October 2022 retaliation. The agency’s Whistleblower Protection Program investigators in Dallas determined the company violated federal whistleblower protections by terminating an employee who exercised their protected rights to request personal protective equipment.
“Every worker is empowered with the right to speak up if they are concerned about their safety or that of others,” said OSHA Dallas Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin. “Rather than fulfilling their responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace, Tyler Pipe Company terminated an employee who raised safety concerns and that is unacceptable.”
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the department’s complaint asks the court to order Tyler Pipe to make the employee whole for the illegal retaliation.
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