GEORGETOWN, DE – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a Delaware salvage yard company and its owner after a federal whistleblower investigation found the company fired a smelter operator for reporting safety concerns.
“Employers who retaliate against workers who raise safety concerns create a potentially dangerous work environment and a chilling effect that discourages others from voicing their concerns,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Michael Rivera in Philadelphia. “No employee should fear retaliation or termination by an employer for freely exercising rights protected under the law.”
Donovan Salvage Works agreed to pay $40,000 in back wages and damages after the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the Georgetown company wrongly terminated the employee after he alerted his supervisor about a smelter leaking propane. The employee alleged the supervisor ignored his concerns and directed him to keep working. When the smelter operator refused, the supervisor agreed to call technicians to address the issue, but directed the employee to go home and told him he would not be paid for the remainder of the day. Technicians later found and repaired the leak.
The employee later contacted OSHA to report the leak. After OSHA investigators contacted the yard regarding the reported safety hazard, the owner of the company concluded that the employee had called OSHA and decided to fire him in retaliation.
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