Trucking Company Employee Whistleblower Protection

In a Fact Sheet provided at http://www.osha.gov/dep/oia/whistleblower/index.html , the U. S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states that truck drivers and other employees working for commercial motor carriers are protected from retaliation for reporting or engaging in activities related to certain commercial motor vehicle safety, health or security conditions.  On August 3, 2007, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA) was amended by The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act to include new rights and remedies.  According to the OSHA Fact Sheet, the STAA protects private sector drivers and other employees of commercial motor vehicle carriers from retaliation for reporting certain activities.  If a trucking company is covered by the STAA, the trucking company employer may not discharge or in any other manner retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint or participating in a proceeding related to the violation of a commercial motor vehicle safety or security rule; cooperating with certain federal safety or security investigations; or providing information in an investigation by a federal, state, or local regulatory or law enforcement agency relating to any accident or incident resulting in injury or death or property damage related to commercial motor vehicle transportation.  As stated in the OSHA Fact Sheet, complaints must be filed within 180 days after the alleged unfavorable personnel action occurs.

Further information about OSHA is available at www.osha.gov . 

Whether trucking industry related whistleblower retaliation occurs in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston, or elsewhere in Texas, trucking company employee whistleblowers may contact OSHA’s Dallas Regional Office at (972)850-4145 and an attorney to determine whether a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential whistleblower claim.