The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the U.S. Postal Service and two of its managers for wrongly terminating a contracted employee who raised safety concerns about loading dock equipment at the Charleroi Post Office.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the action follows an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that determined the U.S. Postal Service violated the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act by firing a worker who refused to unload bulk mail because of a broken loading dock lift at its Pittsburgh sorting facility.
OSHA investigators learned the worker − an employee of Red Diamond Trucking Co. Inc., a Mc Kees Rocks, Pennsylvania, company contracted by the USPS − was prevented from using small hampers to transport the mail safely because of the broken lift, which had almost injured the worker previously.
Aware of the unsafe conditions, the worker asked to use smaller mail hampers to transfer the mail. In response, USPS employees at the facility accused the worker of refusing to handle the mail. They then confiscated the worker’s badge, preventing them from working on the USPS contract. The employee told investigators they left the facility embarrassed and humiliated after being yelled at by others and confronted by USPS Police.
“Every worker deserves a safe workplace and the freedom to report unsafe conditions without the threat of retaliation,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Michael Rivera in Philadelphia. “Employers must understand that retaliation or termination for speaking up about hazards is not only unlawful but undermines the protections meant to keep workers safe.”
The department’s suit asks the court to hold the USPS liable for the illegal retaliation and require payment of back wages and damages.
“When employers retaliate against workers who exercise their right to report unsafe workplace conditions, we will pursue all legal remedies to make sure those employees are made whole and ensure that employers do not engage in this conduct in the future,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia.