Interline Logistics Group LLC Ordered by OSHA to Reinstate and Pay Whistleblower Truck Driver $190,000 After He Refused to Violate Department of Transportation Regulation

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last week ordered Interline Logistics Group LLC, a trucking company headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia, to reinstate a Sauk Village truck driver, and pay over $190,000 in back wages and compensatory damages for violating the whistleblower provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA).

The truck driver filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA against Interline Logistics Groups LLC. OSHA’s investigation found that after the company sent the truck driver to a repair shop to service the deficient brakes, it ordered him to go back to his dispatch location to pick up a return load. The truck driver refused to follow orders because he had already exceeded the maximum number of driving hours allowed by the DOT. The following day, Logistics Group terminated the driver for not following dispatch instructions. OSHA found reasonable cause to believe that the truck driver was terminated for reporting a safety issue with his brakes and refusing to violate DOT regulations.

OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor, Dr. David Michaels, stated in a press release:

This case sends a clear message that employers are simply not allowed to retaliate against workers for reporting work-related safety concerns or against drivers who refuse to violate DOT regulations that determine how many hours they are allowed to work and how much rest they receive.

The Employment Law Group ® law firm has an extensive nationwide whistleblower practice representing employees who have been victims of retaliation.

Tagged: Enforcement Bodies, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA), Whistleblower Laws (Federal)