The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a whistleblower in Orlando, Florida.  The whistleblower, a former employee of the “National Council of La Raza Action Fund Inc.,” alleged that he was terminated in retaliation for reporting concerns about potential exposure to toxic [...]

An employee who blew the whistle on unsafe practices at Argonne National Laboratory (“ANL” or “Argonne”) will be allowed to proceed with his case.  In Franchini v. Argonne National Laboratory, the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) determined on September 26, 2012 that an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) erred when [...]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced settlements in two whistleblower cases earlier this month.  The first settlement, announced on July 2, 2012, was reached with the Tennessee trucking company Heartland Transportation, Inc., which had been accused of terminating a driver for complaining about unsafe vehicles.  The [...]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) has reached a settlement with Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. of Mount Pleasant, Texas, the agency announced on June 29, 2012.  OSHA was investigating allegations that Pilgrim’s Pride had fired an employee working at one of the company’s chicken processing plants after [...]

A chemist for the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) was reinstated earlier this month by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”), the administrative review board that adjudicates many employment-related disputes within the federal government.  The MSPB found that an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) had erred when it dismissed the case of Cate Jenkins, the EPA [...]

Bloomberg reported last Friday that a whistleblower who filed suit against BP over two years ago is currently seeking immediate injunctive relief from the Court due to safety issues that pose an “imminent threat.”  Mikal Watts, attorney for the plaintiff, said in papers filed on Thursday, March 15, 2012, that “immediate court action was needed [...]

The Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) ruled in favor of an environmental whistleblower late last month.  On February 29, 2012, in the case of Lee v. Parker-Hannifin Corporation, Advanced Products Business Unit, the ARB decided that an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) had erred when he dismissed a case brought under [...]

The New York Times reported today that two corporations, Efploia Shipping and Aquarosa Shopping, recently pled guilty to violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (“APPS”).  That U.S. law enforces certain international treaties that prohibit ships from dumping pollutants into the oceans. The government learned of the violations when, in February 2011, an [...]

BP America Inc. (“BP”), the American arm of the energy giant responsible for the devastating 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, was sued on January 20, 2012 for whistleblower retaliation.  August Walter’s complaint against BP alleges that the company violated the Louisiana Environmental Whistleblower Statute when it fired him for making repeated complaints [...]

Mike Klink cried foul on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project, and is now without a job.  The Winnipeg Free Press reported on January 3 that Klink, formerly an engineer for Bechtel Corp., a construction company that was contracted by TransCanada to work on the first phase of the Keystone pipeline, raised a series of [...]