Employee Environmental Whistleblower Protections

The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers an OSHA Fact Sheet at www.osha.gov about whistleblower protections and the environment, stating that an employee may file a complaint with OSHA if an employer retaliates against an employee with unfavorable personnel action because the employee reported a potential environmental violation.  According to the OSHA Fact Sheet, covered employees can include employees who report potential violations of certain environmental laws, including violations of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA); the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA); the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA); the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA); and, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  As OSHA states, if the employee’s employer is covered under one of these statutes, the employer may not discharge or in any other manner retaliate against the employee because the employee reported potential violations of environmental laws and regulations to the employer or the government.  Further, the employer may not discharge or in any manner retaliate against the employee because the employee filed, caused to be filed, participated in or assisted in a proceeding under one of these laws or regulations.

While OSHA states that these statutes do not expressly provide protection for an employee who refuses to work because of an alleged environmental violation by an employer, the Secretary of Labor interprets this statute to protect refusals to work when an employee has a reasonable belief that his or her working conditions are unsafe or unhealthful, and he or she does not receive an adequate explanation from a responsible official that the conditions are safe.

An employer may be found to have violated these statutes if the employee’s protected activity was a motivating factor in the employer’s decision to take an adverse or unfavorable personnel action against the employee.  Examples of unfavorable personnel actions provided by OSHA include firing, lay-off, blacklisting, demotion, overtime or promotion denials, reduction in pay or hours, and intimidation, among others. 

Complaint deadlines are described by OSHA, and, with respect to deadlines, depending on the statute, complaints must be filed within 30 days (CAA, CERCLA, FWPCA, SDWA, TSCA) or 90 days (AHERA) after the alleged unfavorable personnel action occurs (that is, when the employee becomes aware of the retaliatory action). 

An employee, or representative of an employee, who believes that he or she has been retaliated against in violation of these statute(s) may file a complaint with OSHA.  For example, environmental whistleblower employees suffering an adverse employment action in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere in Texas, may contact OSHA’s Dallas Regional Office at (972)850-4145 or an attorney to determine if a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential whistleblower retaliation claim.