OSHA orders Texas trucking firm to reinstate driver fired after reporting safety concerns

The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA), 49 U.S.C. § 31105, makes it illegal for trucking employers to fire, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against covered employees (including drivers, mechanics, and freight handlers) because they:

• Report or file complaints about violations of commercial motor vehicle safety or security regulations to their employer or to government agencies.
• Refuse to operate a vehicle if doing so would violate a federal safety, health, or security rule, or if they reasonably believe the vehicle’s condition creates a serious danger and they have sought correction from the employer.
• Accurately report their hours of service.
• Cooperate with safety or security investigations by DOT, DHS, or NTSB, or provide information about crashes or safety incidents to regulatory or law‑enforcement agencies. These protections prohibit retaliation and give workers the right to file a complaint with the Department of Labor if they are punished for such safety‑related activities.

A worker who believes they were retaliated against for whistleblowing can file a complaint with OSHA for free and in any language. For STAA cases, the complaint must be filed within 180 days of when the adverse action (for example, firing or demotion) was communicated. Complaints can be filed:

• Online, using OSHA’s Whistleblower Complaint Form.
• By fax, mail, or email, sending a letter or printed complaint form to the local OSHA Regional or Area Office.
• By telephone, by calling the local OSHA office or 1‑800‑321‑OSHA (6742).
• In person, by visiting an OSHA office. The worker should identify the employer, describe the safety‑related activity they engaged in, what adverse action occurred, and when. OSHA will then interview the worker to decide whether to open a whistleblower investigation.

In OSHA‑enforced whistleblower cases (including STAA cases), typical monetary remedies include:

• Back wages (back pay): Wages and benefits the worker lost due to the retaliation, plus interest.
• Compensatory damages: Other economic losses (such as medical expenses, job‑search or moving costs) and non‑economic harm like emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of reputation, and similar injuries, as well as litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
• Punitive damages: In some statutes, including STAA, additional damages can be awarded to punish especially egregious or reckless violations; STAA allows punitive damages up to $250,000. These categories are intended to make the worker whole and deter future retaliation.

Yes. Under the STAA and most OSHA‑enforced whistleblower laws, both employers and employees may appeal OSHA’s whistleblower findings and orders:

• Within 30 days after receiving OSHA’s findings and preliminary order (for STAA), either party may file written objections and request a de novo hearing before a Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Filing objections does not stay a preliminary order of reinstatement.
• After the ALJ issues a decision, either party may seek review by the Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (ARB), which issues the final agency decision.
• For STAA cases, a party adversely affected by the final order may then petition the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals within 60 days for judicial review. These steps are in addition to limited internal review of certain dismissals by OSHA’s Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs for a few statutes like OSH Act §11(c), AHERA, and ISCA.

In trucking, the whistleblower complaints OSHA sees under the STAA most often involve drivers reporting or resisting:

• Unsafe vehicles or poor maintenance (e.g., defective brakes, tires, steering, lights, or other mechanical problems discovered during required inspections).
• Pressure to violate Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, especially hours‑of‑service limits, logbook requirements, and size/weight or loading rules.
• Unsafe dispatches, such as being told to drive when excessively fatigued, ill, in severe weather, or with an overloaded or improperly secured load that could endanger the driver or the public. These issues fit within STAA’s protection for reporting commercial motor vehicle safety violations and for refusing to operate a vehicle that would be unsafe or illegal.

Legally, many OSHA whistleblower statutes direct OSHA to complete investigations within 30 to 90 days, but OSHA and the courts treat these deadlines as goals rather than hard limits. OSHA states that whistleblower investigation lengths vary and that, if no final order is issued within 180 or 210 days (depending on the statute), some complainants may file their case in federal court. Practice summaries report that investigations commonly take several months and complex cases can last a year or more before a final agency decision, with additional time if there are ALJ or court appeals.