The dismissal of a state claim against an organization over alleged health and safety violations does not necessarily mean that the organization is off the hook for damages related to those alleged violations, a federal court has ruled. The Labor Department shared the news on Monday, saying it was a “significant decision.”
In June 2021, the Labor Department filed a lawsuit against Community Health Center of Richmond, Staten Island, NY, and its CEO, Henry Thompson. The lawsuit alleged that they violated the OSH Act when they suspended and later terminated the employment of an executive officer manager who had reported concerns to OSHA about the potential for COVID-19 exposure at an in-person staff meeting held in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic.
The worker had been suspended in March 2020 and was fired the next month. She filed a complaint with OSHA on May 7, alleging that the defendants suspended and terminated her employment because she complained about unsafe conditions. The OSH Act protects workers from retaliation when they report hazardous work conditions.
The former employee also filed a state whistleblower claim in June 2020 that later was dismissed.
In a motion filed in October 2021, Community Health Center sought to prevent the Labor Department from seeking individual damages for the former executive officer manager, arguing that the dismissal of her prior state whistleblower claim prevented the department from obtaining monetary relief for her.
In September 2022, however, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York rejected the employer’s argument, saying that the Labor Department has “exclusive authority” to seek damages for individual whistleblowers under the OSH Act.
“The court recognized that when the department brings such actions, it does so to vindicate broader public rights and reaffirmed the central importance of strong whistleblower protection provisions and enforcement,” according to the Labor Department.
“This is a significant decision reaffirming the US Department of Labor’s independent authority to pursue legal actions and relief for employees in the name of the public interest,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York. “The Office of the Solicitor of Labor will continue to aggressively bring cases seeking to vindicate the rights of whistleblowers, who are essential to the proper functioning of laws protecting the health and safety, wages and well-being of the American workforce.”
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act and 24 other statutes meant to protect employees who report violations of financial reform, food safety, healthcare reform, securities, tax, antitrust, anti-money laundering and other laws, and for engaging in other related protected activities.
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