The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint against a Connecticut-based retractable awning manufacturer for illegally terminating two employees after they filed safety and health complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).  The owner of Eastern Awning Systems Inc., Stephen Lukos, could face a jury trial…

  Earlier this year we highlighted the failures of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s Whistleblower Protection Program, which is responsible for investigating claims of whistleblower retaliation in over 22 different sectors including the airline, pipeline, and environmental industries.  The piece focused on Darrell…

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released three new bulletins as part of their ongoing Temporary Workers Initiative.  Started in April of 2013, the initiative aims to beef up safety protections for temporary workers by clarifying standards for both staffing agencies and the companies that hire temporary…

  An investigative report from NBC Bay Area writers Vicky Nguyen, Liz Wagner, and Felipe Escamilla discovered several systematic failures with the OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program that has resulted in botched or falsified several whistleblower cases.  Among their main sources is Darrell Whitman, an agency investigator, who now considers…

  Antonio Vanegas, a food court worker who became a labor activist when he spoke out against wage theft, has been granted authorization to work in the United States through October 2014 by the Department of Labor (DOL).  After blowing the whistle and participating in a one-day action organized by Good Jobs Nation, Vanegas was [&hellip…;

  The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is seeking to streamline the whistleblower process by introducing an online form to register discrimination and retaliation complaints.  The form provides enough information for whistleblower investigators to follow up and begin a case. Previously, whistleblowers could only file a…

  A worker at the Bayonne Medical Center in Bayonne, NJ, has been awarded $2.1 million after suing his employer under the New Jersey Whistleblower Law.   Ceferino Doculan, a 20-year veteran of the hospital, was unfairly terminated after pointing out improper procedures at the Medical Center.  A jury awarded him punitive damages, $80,000 in…